More singles have been allowed to buy two-room flats, despite exceeding their 30 percent quota, as families have not fully taken up their assigned shares, according to media reports.
In the Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise held in July 2013, singles purchased 79 units out of the 231 two-room flats offered in Sengkang and 147 units out of the 288 two-room flats in Yishun.
Overall, 70 percent of the singles, who were invited to select a unit in these towns, managed to secure a two-room flat.
In the September 2013 BTO exercise, singles took up five out of 16 units in Hougang and 66 out of 78 units in Bukit Panjang
In total, 80 percent of the singles that applied managed to procure a flat in these two towns.
R’ST Research Director Ong Kah Seng expects this trend to continue as families prefer larger flats, while demand for two-room flats by singles remains healthy.
"Couples are generally not receptive to two-room flats. Even those with limited affordability still think twice on getting two-room flats as they cannot support family development in future."
"But singles see two-room flats as very sufficient for their own needs," Ong explained.
Notably, first-timer singles were allowed to buy two-room flats in non-mature estates since last July’s BTO exercise. However, they should be at least 35 years old and earn up to S$5,000 a month.
Christopher Chitty, Senior Content Producer at PropertyGuru edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email christopher@propertyguru.com.sg
Related stories:
A very challenging Year of the Horse
Boost for propertycrowd funding site
Singapore top for Asian investors