More new flats to be set aside for singles
Mr Lim Sio Poh, who works in a recycling company, successfully applied for a two-room BTO flat in Bukit Panjang last year. The bachelor says buying the flat was a "good opportunity" and a form of investment for him. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
Singles will soon have more chances at securing new homes.
Starting from May, half of the new two-room flats launched in non-mature estates will be set aside for them. This is up from the current 30 per cent.
This will provide greater assurance to singles and reduce their backlog of pent-up demand for flats, said Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.
"While marriage and parenthood will remain at the core of our housing policy, I recognise that we are more diverse today as a society, with many Singaporeans remaining single," he said.
"Although most live comfortably with their extended families, many desire the privacy and stability of home ownership."
During the debate on the National Development Ministry's budget, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Nee Soon GRC) noted that as many as 9,300 singles have been unsuccessful in their flat applications.
He asked if the ministry would consider increasing the flat quota or chances for singles.
Since July 2013, first-timer singles aged 35 and above and earning up to $5,000 a month have been allowed to buy two-room Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in non-mature estates. More than 18,000 singles have applied for flats so far, and half the number have been able to book one.
Two-room flats have proven popular and are often heavily oversubscribed among singles during BTO exercises.
In last November's exercise, for instance, close to 33 singles vied for every two-room flat launched in Sengkang.
About 5,000 such units were launched last year in response to the high demand, up from 2,600 in 2013. About 4,000 two-room flats will also be launched this year.
Mr Lim Sio Poh, 46, is one bachelor who successfully applied for a two-room BTO flat in Bukit Panjang last year.
The general worker in a recycling company has always lived with his parents in their four-room Yishun flat, but decided that he wanted his own place.
"It's a good opportunity - the flat is cheaper than resale flats and it's new. It's also a kind of investment for me," said Mr Lim.
After receiving about $28,000 in housing grants, his new flat cost him about $120,000. He plans to move into the Senja Road unit in the next two months.
Other singles are eyeing the resale market instead.
"I'd rather go for a resale flat that's three-room or bigger. There's more space and I can get the flat immediately," said property agent Alvin Ten, 34.
The Straits Times / The Big Story Published on 11 March, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment