FACTORS AFFECTING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY FOR ELDERLY HOMEOWNERS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This paper examines the major factors affecting housing affordability for the aged in Singapore. Housing affordability is important because home buying is one of the most important and costly financial decisions a household has to make. As the elderly will constitute a significant proportion of Singapore's population in the coming years, addressing the issues of Singapore's aging population, especially housing, is important. The research design is based on data obtained from conducting a one month survey in December 2003. Using these data, Factor Analysis, Yules Q and Chi- Square Test were used to examine the impacts of the factors. The results assumed five main factors affecting housing affordability for the elderly, namely, purchase price, mortgage terms, amount of cash used to top up monthly mortgage repayments, cash used for down payment (as a proportion of purchase price) and whether all the CPF savings in one's Ordinary Account (OA) has been totally used for monthly mortgage repayments. The hypothesis was stated as the factors affecting affordability of different property types for the elderly are all equally important. The results proved the hypothesis otherwise.