Buyers with Housing Development Board (HDB) addresses lodged 1,016 caveats for private apartments below 500 sq ft in 2010, approximately 17 times the 59 units acquired by HDB dwellers in 2006, according to an analysis of Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Realis caveats data.
These small units comprised 9.1 percent of the total number of non-landed private homes acquired by buyers with HDB addresses in 2010, well above the one percent share in 2006.
While buyers with private addresses snapped up 857 small-format apartments in 2010, up from the 77 units they had acquired in 2006, they could not keep pace with the demand from HDB dwellers. Shoebox units also formed a smaller share of only 4.3 percent of the total non-landed private homes acquired by buyers with private addresses last year.
“The increased demand for small-format or shoebox private apartments by HDB upgraders is a result of more such units being introduced into the market over the past two years. Moreover, some HDB dwellers could have shifted their investment targets from mid-sized to small-format private homes that are still relatively affordable in light of the past few rounds of property cooling measures and rising private home prices,” said Christine Sun, Senior Manager (Research and Consultancy) at Savills.
The analysis also showed that shoebox units snapped up by HDB dwellers during the 2006-2010 periods were mainly in mid-tier locations like the postal districts 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15 and 21.
“Many of these private homes are conveniently located within walking distance of an MRT station or are near amenities. Their good location, affordable lump sum price quantum and rental potential may have made these small-format private homes in mid-tier locations more attractive than those in the prime and mass markets,” said Savills.
The most popular project among HDB dwellers seeking shoebox apartments in 2010 was Viva Vista at South Buona Vista Road / Pasir Panjang Hill, which sold 63 shoebox units.
Source : PropertyGuru – 15 Feb 2011