Ms Tan wanted to buy a resale three-room flat for her twilight years, but the new property regulations have put a spanner in the works.

The retiree told Lianhe Wanbao that she owns a private property, but she wanted to move into a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat and rent out her private property to supplement her retirement income. Living in an HDB flat will also help to lower her monthly expenses.

Unfortunately, her plan is unfeasible after HDB announced that private property owners who buy HDB flats have to sell their private properties within six months of their HDB purchase.

Many existing property owners who were in the process of buying a second property were also affected when new regulations were announced on August 30.

Quite a few had to re-evaluate their finances as the minimum cash outlay has now been raised to 30 per cent of the value of the property.

The changes caught even industry insiders by surprise, and the implications are still sinking into the market.

Lianhe Wanbao and Chinese radio station 100.3FM asked the principal consultant of Propnex, Mr Lim Yong Hock 10 questions from readers and listeners.