Many singles unlikely to settle for 2-room flats
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Although singles are now allowed to buy two-room flats directly from the HDB, it is unlikely that the upcoming launch of such homes in July will be oversubscribed, reported The Straits Times.
Mohamad Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, said the income cap of S$5,000 for single buyers to qualify for two-room flats also makes them eligible for a S$350,000 mortgage loan.
With such a loan, a single buyer will be able to afford a three-room resale flat in most areas, he noted. At the same time, several singles have echoed similar sentiments.
"Two-room is out of the question as my parents want to be able to stay with me when they're older," said 37-year old Desmond Goh who works in customer service. He would rather look for a resale three-room unit.
Another factor discouraging singles is the location of the flats.
"I think families would like to stay in residential estates like Pasir Ris where there is the beach and the park for children. It's singles who want to go to town more often," noted Stacey Cheo, 34, who works for a non-profit organisation.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Mak, Research Head at SLP International, predicts that July's launch will include a bumper supply of two-room flats for singles, but they will likely be mixed with other unit types.
"There are two groups of buyers for two-room flats, singles and lower-income families.. When these flats go onto the resale market, they may form a kind of ghetto if they are bought over by lower-income families and all in the same block." Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@allproperty.com.sg Related Stories: Sembawang-Nee Soon to split
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