I read with horror the suggestion that the answer to Oahu’s housing problem may be found in the Singapore model of leaseholds (“The Singapore solution,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 17).

Leaseholds are a legacy left behind by the British and are nothing short of thievery. You are paying an upfront capital sum for the luxury of living in a glorified rental. As the lease nears expiration, the value of the property decreases rapidly until the property eventually reverts back to the freeholder, leaving the leaseholder with nothing.

Leaseholds are still very common in London, one of the most unaffordable cities in the world. It would make no difference whether the freeholder is the state or a developer, as prices would still be determined by the market and credit availability.

A better solution would be to build rental housing for low-income folks with a possible option to buy.

In the meantime, consideration of what drives home prices to such astronomical levels needs to be addressed. Therein lies the only real solution.

Victor Saumarez

Lahaina

Click here to read more Letters to the Editor.