EXECUTIVE CONDOMINIUM - THE TARGET GROUP'S PERCEPTION

Abstract

The success of public housing and growing affluence of Singaporeans have engendered an insatiable desire for larger and better quality housing - the executive flat. Consequently, applications for executive flats have sharply risen beyond the "capability" of HDB. Furthermore, public housing has become a springboard for leaping into the private housing market - the dream of every Singaporean. The cumulative effect of all these is the spiralling housing prices (especially those of the condominiums) to stultify the aspirations of middle-come Singaporeans for private housing. To placate these people and to rectify the inherent "inequities" of the executive flat, the government announced, on the 30th National Day, the introduction of Executive Condominium. Therefore, this study sets out to review the executive condominium vis-a-vis the target group's perception. After a review of the relevant literature, policy document and analyses of the survey of the target groups,-the research found that even though there is general consensus that the finishes, facilities and quality of executive condominium are comparable to that of private condominiums, the majority of the "HDB-referred" category is not enchanted with the scheme. However, there is overwhelming interest from the "open" category because of its relative affordability ( as the first batch of executive condominium is launched at $400 psf) and the probability of owning a condominium sooner than expected. Notwithstanding all these, potential purchasers have reservations about the scheme while the 20% down payment will incapacitate many "first-timers". Furthermore, the study found that the scheme has had mixed impacts on the housing market. Even though the future impact of the scheme is contingent upon "ifs", the study concluded that the scheme is likely to have a long term mixed impact on the residential property market in Singapore.