By Khalil AdisDec 18, 2009
Khalil Adis is an experienced property writer, with in-depth knowledge of Singapore's and Malaysia's property market. During his career, he's written for Property Guru, Property Report and Property...
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While the issue on housing involving couples has been covered extensively in the media, there are little resources for singles to turn to.
This year, singles are finding themselves being priced out from the Housing Development Board (HDB) resale market due to the record rise in the HDB Resale Price Index (RPI).
On top of that, cash-over-valuations (COVs) across flat types have continued increasing in the third quarter by a whopping 300 percent from $3,000 to $12,000.
And mind you, COVs and prices of resale flats are expected to rise even further next year.
So what should you do?
I spoke recently to PropNex’s CEO, Mohamed Ismail, and he said singles should get married.
Now before you accuse him of meddling into your life, his suggestion does make sense, as couples would have the option to buy Built to Order (BTO) or Design Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) projects, where they do not have to come up with so much cash for their purchase.
However, if the thought of getting hitched gives you cold feet, then you need to take a long-term view on your first property purchase to get more bang for your buck.
My advice is to consider “Mickey Mouse” apartments which have become popular offerings this year.
Early this year, Alexis, a condominium located near to Queenstown MRT station, was offering one-bedroom units ranging from 388 sq ft to 527 sq ft.
At a price of about $1,000 per sq ft, you can have the opportunity to live close to the heart of the city for an investment of less than $400,000.
The main advantage is, you do not need to spend additional money on renovation as such apartments already come with quality finishes.
Moreover, should you wish to lease it out, you can do it anytime and can expect to fetch a rental yield of about $2,500.
A HDB resale flat does not give you that flexibility.
Rather than paying for high COVs and spending further on renovation costs, you are better off keeping your cash for your 20 percent downpayment.
Now, who says singles can’t have it all?
“Property prices in Singapore will dip...
A recent headline on Forbes.com grabbed my attention...
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Reader Comments (4 comments)
Its true, i am single & bought my 1st mickey mouse studio as HDB COV price is kinda far reach for me if i want to stay city fringe area. who really wants to stay jurong, woodlands, sengkang ..even then ..they are asking 20-30k in today's rate. not forgetting the 5% of the purchase price, the comm rate to the agent, the renovation if u dont like the style ..so in the end, settling private is a good choice, if mkt is good next time, sell it as profit & buy HDB later...
Singles usually tend to be cash rich. Absolutely agreed with Khalil. If i need to spend say 30K on a COV for a resale HDB flat, i rather use the cash to pay for a 5% downpayment for a one bed room private apartment which could be a freehold apartment instead of leasehold.
is crazy n as good as out of text. if single cant even afford the cash for the COV, how on earth can he afford a pte apt???? further, settling this issue n going into buying a mickey mouse apt, with higher in sale price, sure it also link with higher loan n investment, think then, won't the monthly installment be higher as well?
If young & single, my advice is look into migrating, with new BTO's costing 600k,migration is a better option. The world is global & we should think of becoming foreign talents as well .