SMU professors David Lee, Phang Sock Yong and Phoon Kok Fai, SMU researcher Karol Wee, as well as head of research at Savills Singapore, Alan Cheong, made a case for a REIT comprising Housing and Development Board (HDB) residential and commercial units. The article noted that having an HDB-focused REIT can help to tackle the challenges of increased rental yields driven by strong demand for public housing. On this, Prof Lee cited an example: “Every time you build a new block, 10 per cent is for rental, so instead of building nine blocks, you now build 10 blocks."