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SINGAPORE: With retirement just around the corner, 66-year-old Chew Kee Yoke decided he wanted to be “cash rich and asset poor.”
So when his daughter moved out of the family’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) five-room flat in Bukit Batok, he and his wife sold their house for around S $ 500,000.
They moved into a Flexi two bedroom flat with a 35 year lease in the same area last year.
It costs about S $ 100,000, which leaves them a good sum, part of which Chew plans to invest.
The part-time security guard and the taxi driver said, “As you get older, your income is going to go down. You can’t expect to get paid like before, so you need to have cash to keep going. “
Another reason for moving was that it became more difficult to clean a large apartment as it got older, he added.
READ: HDB launches a unique portal for flat purchases
Since the two-bedroom Flexi apartments were introduced in 2015, more than half of these new units have been booked by seniors like Chew.
Ranging from 36 square meters to 46 square meters, these apartments offer senior buyers flexible lease terms of 15-45 years and senior features.
Families and singles can buy them too, but only with a standard 99-year lease.
MORE THAN HALF THE FLOORS RESERVED BY LARGER BUYERS
As of December 31, 2020, about 34,700 two-bedroom Flexi apartments had been offered for sale, HDB said in a press release on Saturday (February 27).
Based on the selection exercises that have been completed, 84% of the 29,924 units offered have been reserved.
Of these, 56 percent, or 14,153 units, were reserved by buyers 55 and older.
About 38 percent or 9,429 units were booked by singles, who can only purchase such units on immature properties.
Meanwhile, households made up about 6 percent, or 1,607 of these units.
Among older buyers, about 92 percent, or 13,081, chose short-term rental flats, while the remainder opted for 99-year leases.
The 40-year lease option was the most popular with 4,046 units reserved. This was followed by 35 and 30-year lease options, with 3,526 and 2,291 units respectively, HDB said.
These trends were consistent with the figures for previous years.
The shorter 15-year lease also saw 215 buyers, and HDB noted that the oldest buyer who chose this was 99 years old at the time of the flat application.
FLEXIBLE TWO BEDROOM FLOORS WITH FLEXIBLE SPACE
Since February 2020, HDB has progressively introduced two-bedroom Flexi flooring with flexible space.
“The 46 square meter flat design allows flexible use of space, such as a dining room, study or placing an extra bed,” said the Housing Board.
Older buyers of these apartments can opt for the optional components package, which includes a folding door among other senior accessories.
As of December 31, 2020, around 2,100 such units have been offered with flexible space.
Selections are still being made for the August and November sales exercises of last year. But of the 666 such units offered in the February 2020 Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise, 70% have been booked by elderly applicants, HDB said.
Among them, 278 opted for the Optional Components package.
HDB also noted that since the February sales exercise of this year, these flexible space floors have replaced the previous 45-square-meter floors.
Seniors buying two-bedroom Flexi flats can also apply for the Silver Housing Bonus, which was introduced in 2013 and improved last year.
It awards seniors up to S $ 30,000 as a cash bonus when they sell their existing condo, move to a three-bedroom flat or smaller, and use the proceeds to top up their CPF Retirement Account.
As of December 31, 2020, 970 households have benefited from this bonus, HDB said.
MORE OPTIONS FOR SENIORS
To give seniors more housing options, a new type of public housing was launched in February’s BTO exercise with senior-friendly features and subscription to care services.
HDB said it received a total of 706 applications for the 169 Community Care Apartment units on offer.
Meanwhile, more two-bedroom Flexi apartments will continue to be launched across the island.
“For the upcoming May and August 2021 sales exercises, apartment buyers can expect two-bedroom Flexi flats on sale in Geylang, Hougang, Jurong East, Tampines, Tengah and Woodlands,” said HDB.
