{"id":114153,"date":"2020-02-10T14:15:23","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T07:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hbd-seniors-bought-over-50-of-new-two-room-flats\/"},"modified":"2020-02-10T14:24:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T07:24:25","slug":"hbd-seniors-bought-over-50-of-new-two-room-flats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hbd-seniors-bought-over-50-of-new-two-room-flats\/","title":{"rendered":"HBD: Seniors bought over 50% of new two-room flats"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u00a0
\nMore than half of all new two-room flats were bought by senior citizens since the two-room Flexi Scheme was rolled-out in 2015, reported The Straits Times citing the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
\nAbout 28,900 units of the two-room flexi flats were offered by the HBD since the first November 2015 sales exercise until 31 December 2019. Since then, 85% or 21,348 of the 25,106 units that were offered in 27 completed sales exercises were booked.Of these, 55% were booked by seniors aged 55 and above, while families and singles booked the rest.
\nNine in 10 of the senior buyers opted for short leases of 15 to 45 years, in five-year increments.
\nIn fact, 92% or 10,705 of the units acquired by seniors were on short leases.
\nFlats with 40-year lease emerged as the most popular at 3,339 units, followed by those with 35-year lease and 30-year lease at 2,903 units and 1,844 units, respectively.
\nOnly 179 buyers opted for the shortest lease of 15 years.
\nShorter leases are cheaper. In the November sales exercise, for instance, a 15-year two-room flexi flat in Tengah cost from $39,000 to $58,000, while a similar unit with 99-year lease is priced from $110,000 to $167,000.
\nHuttons Asia director of research Lee Sze Teck believes the take-up rate for the two-room flexi units is \u201creasonable\u201d, noting that the government\u2019s \u201cpolicy of encouraging the elderly to downsize after family members move out is actually working\u201d.
\nFoo See Yin, 78, and Low Choon Moi, 76, sold their four-room unit in Khatib for around $420,000 before relocating into their two-room flexi flat in 2017 because their three children no longer live with them.
\n\u201cOur previous home was too big for the two of us and we\u2019re already so old, so we decided to buy a smaller home,\u201d said Foo.
\nLee noted that this is \u201cgood for the entire market, as the bigger flats could be put up for sale for other buyers who need more space, instead of HDB building bigger flats\u201d.
\nBut while the take-up rate of two-room flexi flats is positive, ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said it is still lower than those for bigger flats.
\nThis comes as some buyers are put-off by the shorter lease, since the unit would not have a resale value.
\nSeniors purchasing two-room flexi units may also avail of the Silver Housing Bonus, which is a cash bonus of up to $20,000 per household, when they utilize their net sale proceeds when downsizing their homes to top up their CPF Retirement Accounts and join CPF Life.
\nNot all seniors, however, may qualify, said Mak. This is because the previous home of the senior should have an annual value of not more than $13,000 only.
\nMeanwhile, HDB revealed that two-room flexi flats will continue to be offered in Build-To-Order projects islandwide.
\nAside from the flexible length of leases, these units also offer senior-friendly features, including a lower kitchen counter-top for wheelchair users, and grab bars for all short-lease two-room flexi flats.
\nLastly, in selected projects, buyers of two-room flexi flat with short-lease may choose the Optional Component package, which feature senior-friendly fittings, such as a folding partition separating the bedroom and living room.
\nBuyers may also use the space to accommodate a caregiver, or for entertaining visitors.
\nThe Optional Component package will allow senior buyers of short-lease flats to receive a unit in move-in condition, complete with lighting and fittings, including built-in kitchen cabinets and wardrobes.
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit\u00a0PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…HBD: Seniors bought over 50% of new two-room flats<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 More than half of all new two-room flats were bought by senior citizens since...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-tHb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104371,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/most-buyers-of-2-room-flexi-flats-are-seniors\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":0},"title":"Most buyers of 2-room flexi flats are seniors","date":"February 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Buyers can look out for a new batch of 2-room flexi flats launching in Tengah, Woodlands and Kallang\/Whampoa in May. Since 2-room flexi flats were introduced in November 2015, 16,169 units have been taken-up to date. Of this, 54 percent were purchased by those aged 55 and above, according\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46811,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/2-room-flexi-flats-see-encouraging-response\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":1},"title":"2-room Flexi flats see encouraging response","date":"March 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Many elderly buyers have booked 2-room Flexi flats as they offer shorter leases. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Sunday (5 March) said that the 2-Room Flexi Scheme has received \u201cvery encouraging\u201d response, with 87 percent of the 6,070 units offered in four sales exercises already booked, reported\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62549,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/seniors-to-look-forward-to-nearly-11000-new-flats\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":2},"title":"Seniors to look forward to nearly 11,000 new flats","date":"August 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \u00a0 Singapore\u2019s Housing and Development Board (HDB) had completed a total of 9,119 studio apartments catering specifically to the elderly age 55 and above from 2002 to June 2017, according to the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a parliamentary session on 1 August (Tuesday). \u201cAnother 1,875 studio apartments\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35462,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-launches-10118-flats-in-november-sales-exercise\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":3},"title":"HDB launches 10,118 flats in November sales exercise","date":"November 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r New HDB flats accounted for more than half of the units launched for sale.\u00a0 The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 10,118 flats for sale on Tuesday (22 November) in its largest sales exercise in 2016. Build-To-Order (BTO) flats accounted for more than half of the units launched for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":112306,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-launches-8170-flats-in-november-sales-exercise\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":4},"title":"HDB launches 8,170 flats in November sales exercise","date":"November 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r This includes 4,571 BTO flats in Tengah, Ang Mo Kio and Tampines, as well as 3,599 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats scheme within mature and non-mature estates, like Bishan and Clementi. Image: HDB The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 8,170 flats for sale in the year\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":71759,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-launches-8230-flats-in-november\/","url_meta":{"origin":114153,"position":5},"title":"HDB launches 8,230 flats in November","date":"November 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Artist\u2019s impression of the Tampines GreenCourt BTO project. Source: HDB A total of 8,230 flats were launched for sale on Tuesday (14 November) by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in its latest sales exercise. This comprises 4,829 Build-To-Order (BTO) units and 3,401 balance flats across 25 estates. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}