The right price for second flat

Despite the talk of the industry that this is not the right time to purchase a property, Michael Chee, a 52-year-old shipbuilding subcontractor, brazenly decided to go ahead in searching for a new home.

Mr. Chee only had two criteria for his new pad, it should be easily accessible through public transport and it should be low-priced.

He purchased a unit with three bedrooms in Northvale condo situated in front of the Choa Chu Kang MRT station. According to him, “If I had a car, the location wouldn't have mattered to me, but I don't have a driving licence so I prefer to live near an MRT station or a bus interchange“. He added ”I don't want to waste so much time on travelling and waiting for feeder buses. Time is money too”.

Last month, he paid out almost $640,000 for the apartment consisting of 1,350 square feet and decides to transfer in June. According to him, “HDB prices are so high. If I buy an HDB flat near the MRT station, I will have to pay at least $450,000. I might as well pay a bit more and get to experience living in a condominium”.

The condo unit is Mr. Chee’s first owned private property and his family currently lives in a HDB flat with five rooms located in Choa Chu Kang.

His 26-year-old daughter lives there with her other half and their 12-month-old daughter while he, together with his 50-year-old wife, their 20-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter will move to the condo unit.

“The search took only a few weeks because I was sure I wanted to buy an older condominium”, said Mr Chee. He also added ”We went to see some new condominiums, but you have to make decisions based on drawings that may not be accurate and then you still have to wait a long time for it to be completed before you can move in”.

Mr. Chee purchased half of the condominium’s cost direct from his personal savings and took a loan from a bank in order to pay for the other half. He said that for now he has no further plans of putting up the HDB flat for sale.

“With the economy in this state, at least if something happens to my job, I still have the HDB flat to fall back on. I could at least sell or mortgage it if I need the cash for the condominium payment”.

On the opinion from other people not to purchase property now, Mr. Chee said: “Why should I listen to others? Buying a house is a personal thing. It is up to your needs. If you like the place, the owners are willing to sell, the price is okay and you can afford to buy it, then why not?”