One Bedroom Apartment

[WayOutThere]

I'm considering job opportunities in Singapore and I was wondering...If I'm not too picky about where I live (as long as its clean and functional) what would the price range be for a ONE bedroom apartment (or maybe a studio)?? I don't mind taking public transportation to get to work and the views aren't that important to me either.

The reason I ask is because I really don't want to rent out a bedroom in someone else's house/condo. It just ain't my thing...

[sundaymorningstaple]

Rental on a one bedroom apartment would be about double of a 2 bedroom HDB flat. (lock one room or use it for storage in the HDB flat). One room or studio flats are as scarce as hen's teeth.

[WayOutThere]

Hmmm.....I think I don't understand how housing works in Singapore.... What is HDB housing? I've also heard of JCT I think? How are they different from a flat in the West? What exactly do these arrangements include? Why did you say I should get a 2 bedroom HDB?
Sorry, I'm just a bit confused...

[nakatago]

please use the search function for other threads by people who look for places to rent; how the whole rental scheme works has been discussed before.

[sundaymorningstaple]

One BR apartments are as scarce as hen's teeth. They are not pragmatic in land scarce Singapore as every sq/m counts, therefore most start with 2 BR and go up from there. As there are very few 1 BR's they are very expensive as people are silly to insist on renting one so the real estate agents gouge them for being stupid.

[revhappy]

Almost every one of the recent launches of condo projects include studio apartments in them and they are the ones that get snapped up first. But I do agree that there are very few ready to occupy studios. I wonder why they didnt build enough of those earlier.

There was time when HDB used to build only 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom flats . That was 10 years ago. All flats that were built in Sengkang and Punggol were of those types. I wonder what the reasoning was. With Singaporeans producing 0 or 1 kid how many bedrooms do you need for a household?

But things are changing now and the DBSS flats recently launched in Yishun and Sengkang too have 2 bedders in them.

[Girl_Next_Door]

3 bedrooms flat are actually flats that have 2 bedrooms (not 3 bedrooms). 4 bedrooms flat will be flats with 3 bedrooms. In HDB world, they consider living room spare as a bedroom.

[Asian_Geekette]

@revhappy: 3 bedroom flat: 1 for the couple, 1 for the kid and 1 for the grandparents (So can claim tax relief for having your parents live with you!)

4 bedroom flat: Same as above but use extra room to rent out to foreigners and not allow them to cook. (So can have extra money lah!)

[revhappy]

3 bedrooms flat are actually flats that have 2 bedrooms (not 3 bedrooms). 4 bedrooms flat will be flats with 3 bedrooms. In HDB world, they consider living room spare as a bedroom.

Its actually 3 room flats have 2 bedrooms and 4 room flats have 3 bedrooms. Sengkang and Punggol have 4 room and 5 room flats.

[Addadude]

One BR apartments are as scarce as hen's teeth. They are not pragmatic in land scarce Singapore as every sq/m counts, therefore most start with 2 BR and go up from there. As there are very few 1 BR's they are very expensive as people are silly to insist on renting one so the real estate agents gouge them for being stupid.

In my experience, 1 bedroom apartments are more widespread then you'd think. Off the top of my head:

In the East Coast you can find them at Bayshore Park, Eastern Lagoon and Mandarin Gardens.

More centrally, you can find them at Burlington Sq (I lived in one there for 2 years), Sunshine Plaza, Centrepoint Apartments, Mirage Tower in Havelock Road, various smaller condos around Mount Sophia and Novena, The Sail, Marina Bay Residences, Riverwalk Galleria near Boat Quay.

In Tanjong Pagar/Chinatown - International Plaza, Craig Place, The Icon and The Lumiere (brand new) and even People's Park Complex.

Further west, there are quite a few (both old and brand new) along Pasir Panjang Road.

Little India has a whole bunch of them too.

As SMS says, the brand new 'trendier' units will be very expensive for what you get. The older, further out units like Bayshore Park and Mandarin Gardens are much more affordable. If you don't mind the traveling time, Bayshore Park is an excellent choice IMO.

[revhappy]

Addadude dude, You know so much about condos! I am myself looking to buy one sometime in Jan next year. My initial plan was to take up PR and then buy an HDB. But after the new rules, I dont think buying HDB is a good investment anymore.

Anyways, I am planning to buy a 2 bedroom condo for under 600K. I know my budget is a bit tight. I have Melville park in my mind. Can you please suggest any other thats would be a good investment for 3-5 yrs? We are planning to stay there and save on the rent that is currently going down the drain, but in case of unforeseen circumstances, if we have to leave Singapore we would like to rent it out and make sure that the rent covers the EMI.

Locationwise, I am ok anywhere in Singapore but preferably in east or north of Singapore.Thanks in Advance!

[sundaymorningstaple]

3 bedrooms flat are actually flats that have 2 bedrooms (not 3 bedrooms). 4 bedrooms flat will be flats with 3 bedrooms. In HDB world, they consider living room spare as a bedroom.

That is bull and you know it.

A 3 Room Flat has 2 bedrooms, a 5 room Flat has either 3 or 3.5 or 4 bedrooms. A 4 room flat has 3 bedrooms. They are not called a "3 bedrooms flat". Where did you get that kind of information? Look on the HDB website then get back to us here.

The "living room" is commonly referred to as the Hall.

[nakatago]

3 bedrooms flat are actually flats that have 2 bedrooms (not 3 bedrooms). 4 bedrooms flat will be flats with 3 bedrooms. In HDB world, they consider living room spare as a bedroom.

That is bull and you know it.

A 3 Room Flat has 2 bedrooms, a 5 room Flat has either 3 or 3.5 or 4 bedrooms. A 4 room flat has 3 bedrooms. They are not called a "3 bedrooms flat". Where did you get that kind of information? Look on the HDB website then get back to us here.

The "living room" is commonly referred to as the Hall.

We often saw ads that said "Five Room Flats"--upon calling, it turned out to be three bedrooms, the living room and the kitchen, er, room.

[Girl_Next_Door]

3 bedrooms flat are actually flats that have 2 bedrooms (not 3 bedrooms). 4 bedrooms flat will be flats with 3 bedrooms. In HDB world, they consider living room spare as a bedroom.

That is bull and you know it.

A 3 Room Flat has 2 bedrooms, a 5 room Flat has either 3 or 3.5 or 4 bedrooms. A 4 room flat has 3 bedrooms. They are not called a "3 bedrooms flat". Where did you get that kind of information? Look on the HDB website then get back to us here.

The "living room" is commonly referred to as the Hall.

So I added the "bed" infront of the "room" in error. No need to start bitting my head off... duh. Its only Monday...

[teck21]

We often saw ads that said "Five Room Flats"--upon calling, it turned out to be three bedrooms, the living room and the kitchen, er, room.

I acrually think the 'fifth' room refers to the dining room, so a '5-room' flat actually has a dining area that is sort of distinct from the living hall as opposed to just being an extension of it. Sort of, therefore it's a room!

Wonder who dreamt up all these terms. But in genuine Singapore-orderly fashion, everything must have a name or designation. To aviod confusion no less!