It is a scenario that alarms Housing Board flat owners who see their home as an ever-appreciating asset - but which young people who are home-hunting might cheer: A vast overhang of flats for sale amid shrinking demand, and which pushes prices down.

That is the sobering prediction of property analyst Ku Swee Yong in a commentary for The Straits Times, "Prepare for supply avalanche as ageing HDB owners die", on March 5, in which he analysed the possible effect of an ageing population on public housing.