PROFILE OF THE HDB RESALE FLAT BUYERS

Abstract

With the emergence of the HDB resale market in 1971, people had an alternative choice of affordable housing. Not only were the rules and regulations governing the purchase of resale flats less restrictive, buyers were open to more choices of locations. These factors have resulted in an active resale market. From 1989 to 1999; the number of resale flat applications have increased from 12,638 to 68,013. This study attempts to find out who are these people making up the healthy demand. An examination of the HDB resale policies and a discussion on the determinants of housing demand and the trend of resale flat applications over the years were covered as a background to the topic of study. A sample of 200 HDB resale flat buyers were interviewed at the HDB Resale Unit with the objectives of obtaining information on their profiles and finding out their reasons for moving and reasons for choice of locality. The survey findings showed that 34.0% of the buyers were upgraders, 25.5% were down graders, 21.5% were first timers and 19.0% were lateral movers. The common reason cited by buyers for moving is the need for change of environment, while the proximity to relatives and friends influences most buyers in their choice of locality.