Thomas Chew

For young couples in Singapore, asking your partner “want to BTO?” is essentially akin to a marriage proposal, albeit an utterly unromantic one. Build-to-Order (BTO) exercises have always been the medium through which countless Singaporean couples have obtained their first home, and this will probably continue to be the case well into SG500. However, there is another option home-seekers can consider besides BTO and resale flats: Sale of Balance Flats (SBF). What are Sale of Balance Flats (SBF)? SBFs can

The Singapore government has always advocated that Housing Development Board (HDB) flats are not only good homes for Singaporeans but also a “nest-egg”, whereby older Singaporeans can monetize their flats to obtain a sizeable sum for their retirement. For the most part, Singaporeans have whole-heartedly accepted this sentiment. This has resulted in Singapore having some of the highest homeownership rates in the world, with about 80% of the population staying in HDB flats as owner-occupiers. However, 2 events in the

In the past, million-dollar HDB transactions used to only occur once in a blue moon; however, it is slowly becoming a norm in the resale transaction market in recent years. Though the majority of the million-dollar transactions were non-standard flats such as Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flats, over the past 2 years, more standard HDB flats are being transacted at outrageously high prices, and “normal” four-room flats started to cross the $1 million mark for the first time

There have been many discussions out there about whether leasehold or freehold is a better option. However, is the lease of the property enough to determine whether or not it is a good property? To a certain extent, the lease status does play a part in it, but of course, there are many other factors that might affect your preference for a certain property as well. Common Misconception You would have heard of freehold and leasehold properties before, but there