National guidelines on economically affordable housing were released on Friday night along with new State measures on housing for low-income families, which come into effect on Saturday.

Economically affordable houses ought to be around 60 sq m per unit, said the guidelines jointly released by the Ministry of Construction, the National Development and Reform Commission, and five other ministries.

It said eligible purchasers will "have limited property rights", and that the apartments can only be directly sold after five years.