QUESTION TIME | In the forthcoming budget on Oct 11, we are already being promised schemes to make it easier for people to buy houses. It seems there are plenty of houses, but not enough buyers - the classic mismatch between supply and demand.

So, what is one of the steps the government is taking? It is trying to conjure up some magic by making those people, who are not bankable right now for home financing, somehow or other become more bankable overnight by coming up with some kind of financing scheme.

If people can’t afford to buy a house, how can you make it easier for them to buy one via new financing schemes? You can have deferred payment schemes and you can have rear-ended higher payments, but eventually, you must pay the cost of the house with interest. You simply cannot run away from that...