MATURE VS NEW ESTATES : WHAT DO SINGAPOREANS PREFER MORE?

Abstract

Substantial research has traced New Town development in Singapore, and studied design issues and residents' sense of place. However, little has been done on buyers' preferences of HDB housing options: new flats in new estates, new flats in mature estates and resale flats in mature estates, the focus of this study. Descriptive data analysis revealed that in general, buyers agreed that the size of the flats and the availability of public transportation have major influence on their residential preferences. Buyers prefer to stay in new estates because of the quality of the internal finishes found in new flats. Hence should they relocate in the future, their subsequent flats must have on par or even better quality of internal finishes. Alternatively, buyers are attracted to stay in the mature estates because of the well developed and extensive public transportation network in place, and adequate amenities like shopping/entertainment/food establishments being provided. The places of worship, quality of the external works/landscaping and the provisions of technology features like high speed broadband are not regarded highly. The findings in this study can assist HDB in designing both HDB flats and estates to better suit buyers' preferences. This will eventually result in the optimization of resources in the public housing market in Singapore. In conclusion, buyers prefer flats in mature estates over new estates.