Tips on Buying Properties for Young Homeowners

Singapore, 12 Oct 2016 – For young homebuyers, the idea of purchasing your own place can be very exhilarating. However, before diving straight into house hunting, here are some tips to consider:• Do your family planning
Knowing how many members there will be in your family will make it much easier to estimate the amount of living space required. Plan for at least the next five to 10 years. Generally for young couples with one child, a three room HDB flat (or a two bedroom condominium unit) should suffice.

• Plan your finances
Draw up a rough budget to know how much you can afford to set aside for your home. This will prevent you from overstretching your finances. Your housing budget is basically a combination of bank loan (that you are eligible for) + available CPF + Cash. As lending rules are stricter now, always check with the bank what amount of loan you are eligible for first. Also, if you are planning to have children, do set aside more capital as a buffer in case unexpected situations arise.

• When viewing houses, always visit it more than once
For buyers who are looking at existing properties, this is so you get a feel of how the unit is like at different times of the day. For buyers of uncompleted properties, while there is no actual unit to view, visit the site of the development instead. Do try to spread your visits between weekdays and weekends, both in the day and at night.

• Do your homework
Prior to committing to a purchase, always refer to latest transaction prices on the Housing and Development Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority’s website for public housing and private housing respectively. This will give you a rough gauge of prices in the market today.

When choosing a type of property to buy, it all boils down to individual preference. Some prefer newly completed projects as it offers immediate occupation and less renovation work is required. Others may select an older unit because of the spaciousness. Ultimately, it is important that you buy something that best suits your needs.

By Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer and Seah Yao Hui, Assistant Manager, Research