Seniors Offered Over 50% of Recent Room Residences

About 28,900 units of this two-room flexi flats were provided from the HBD because the very first November 2015 sales exercise before 31 December 2019. Ever since that time, 85 percent or 21,348 of those 25,106 units that were provided in 27 finished sales exercises were booked.

Midtown Modern Singapore, new condo to be developed by Guocoland. Target to launch in 2020. Of these, 55 percent have been booked by seniors aged 55 and above, while families and singles booked the remainder.

Nine in 10 of those senior buyers chosen for quick leases of 15 to 45 years, in five-year increments.

In fact, 92 percent or 10,705 of those units acquired by seniors were on brief leases.

Flats using 40-year lease emerged as the very popular at 3,339 units, followed closely by people who have 35-year lease and 30-year lease at 2,903 units and 1,844 units, respectively.

Just 179 buyers chosen for the shortest lease of 15 years.

From the November sales practice, for instance, a 15-year two-room flexi flat in Tengah price from $39,000 to $58,000, even though a similar unit with 99-year lease is priced from $110,000 to $167,000.

Huttons Asia manager of research Lee Sze Teck considers the take-up rate for its two-room flexi units is”reasonable”, noting that the government’s”policy of encouraging the elderly to downsize after family members go outside is actually working”.

Foo See Yin, 78, and Low Choon Moi, 76, marketed their four-room unit at Khatib for around $420,000 before relocating in their two-room flexi flat in 2017 because their children no longer reside together.

“Our previous house was too large for both of us and we are already so outdated, so we decided to purchase a smaller house,” said Foo.

Lee noted that this can be”great for the whole market, as the larger flats could be set up for sale for different buyers who want more space, instead of HDB constructing larger flats”.

However, while the take-up rate of two-room flexi flats is optimistic, ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said it’s still lower than those for larger flats.

This comes as a few buyers are put-off from the briefer lease, because the device wouldn’t have a resale value.

Seniors purchasing two-room flexi units may also avail of their Silver Home Bonus, which can be a cash bonus up to $20,000 per family, when they use their internet sale proceeds when devoting their houses to high up their CPF Retirement Accounts and combine CPF Life.

That is because the prior residence of the senior must have an annual value of more than $13,000 only.

Meanwhile, HDB revealed that two-room flexi flats will last to be offered in Build-To-Order jobs islandwide.

Aside from the elastic period of leases, these units also offer you senior-friendly features, such as a decrease kitchen counter tops for wheelchair users, and grab bars for all short-lease two-room flexi flats.

The Optional Component package will allow senior buyers of short-lease flats to be given a unit at move-in condition, complete with light and fittings, such as built in kitchen cabinets and wardrobes.