Housing Minister Terry Lister has come in for a good deal of criticism over the proposed sale of homes in St. George's by the Housing Corporation.

But the idea of selling Government housing stock is not wrong in principle.

Giving people a chance at home ownership is the right thing to do. The housing shortage is as dire for home buyers as it is for tenants, and home ownership improves the Island's social and economic stability. Nor does the sale of homes reduce the Island's housing stock, assuming it is done correctly.

Indeed, the United Bermuda Party is short-sighted in criticising the proposal, even though Shadow Minister Wayne Furbert is correct when he states that Government has no long term housing plan and seems to be doing things by the seat of its pants.

But it was the UBP which pioneered the sale of low cost housing and they were right to do so.

The difference here is in the approach. First, the existing tenants should have the right of first refusal on the homes. These are their homes after all and they should be given the chance to own them rather than be forced to move.

Second, the sale should be affordable for low cost tenants, both in terms of price and the length of the mortgage. In this way, the housing crisis, which is most severe at the lower end of the market, can be alleviated. And Government is not in the commercial real estate business; it does not have to get market prices for these properties. That does not mean it should not get value for money or that it should not recoup the value of the land.

Third, the homes should only be available to first time home owners, whether they are sitting tenants or not. If the homes are being priced at below market value, as they should be, the risk of "profiteering" can be removed by making it a condition that the homes not be sold for, say, ten years, except in the case of death or default.

By selling to first time home owners, the stock of rental units is not meaningfully reduced because the new homeowners were tenants and the homes they are currently renting (if they are not existing tenants of the homes going up for sale) will become available.

In this way, Government can help people get a "piece of the rock", bring some stability to society, and ease the demand for homes.

Of course, this does little to ease the overall housing shortage. Government should take the money it gets from the sales to build or renovate more low cost rental properties which, one day, can be sold to their tenants too.

Now, Government is not going all of this. It makes the claim that no homes are available for less than $900,000 when this is an average price produced by commercial realtors. Clearly, some homes are sold for less than this; there were condominiums listed for sale in The Royal Gazette this week for less than $500,000.

It is true that the BHC is more than a rental agency, but it is also in the business of providing affordable housing and it is debatable whether selling these two-bedroom units for at least $600,000 fits its mission.