Singapore couples are marrying earlier to buy homes
ON THEIR second date, Serena Wong and her boyfriend discussed an all-important question for young Singaporean couples: when to buy an apartment together.
Six months later, they applied for a public housing flat in the city-state. After taking part in several ballots over 10 months, they were allocated a unit and agreed to put down a S$40,000 deposit. That kicked off a five-year wait to purchase a S$620,000 three-bedroom apartment in Queenstown, a centrally located neighbourhood where similar homes cost as much as 50 per cent more in the resale market.
We already knew what we wanted in the relationship and had marriage in mind. But housing prices pushed things forward much faster, said Wong, a 28-year-old business development manager at a tech company. The couple will have to submit a copy of their marriage certificate to Singapores housing board within three months of getting the keys to their flat.
Long waits for new apartments to be built and rising costs of living are causing Singapore citizens to make long-term decisions about life and money early in their relationships. The governments pro-family policies, designed to encourage couples to get married and have babies, are combining with economic factors to create unintended consequences. Recent research indicates marriage rates have risen among younger Singaporeans, and so have rates of divorce.
Singapores ruling political party has long staked its success on delivering a public housing system that has become the envy of the world. The island nations home ownership rate is close to 90 per cent, and more than three quarters of its 4.1 million citizens and permanent residents live in Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats that are subsidised by the government. Most units are spacious, well-maintained, and in convenient locations close to public transportation, eateries and shopping malls.
Their resale values have surged more than 80 per cent since 2009, creating wealth for many Singaporeans. That has also sparked a national debate about housing affordability for first-time home buyers and lower wage earners.
Source: The Business Time Singapore
