Newbie needs help on house hunting locations

[Tropigal3]

I posed this questions in the relocation forum but after 158 lookers and NO responses I hope this forum will generate responses. Hopefully.

We may be relocating to Singapore in a couple of months and I'd like to get an idea of how much it cost for housing. My husband would be working in Sembawang so I have been looking at townhouses in several districts nearby (27,28, 26, 20 and 19). I'm looking into something with at least 3 bedrooms in minimum 1500 sq ft. My question is how much might we expect to pay for that in a nice townhouse in a good area? Would $8,000 get us a nice place or would we need to go a lot higher? There's three of us, me, husband teenager who would more than likely go to the Singapore American School.

Any suggestions is really appreciated!

[cw1483]

Dear OP,

I think with your budget, you should be fine.

When I searched online today, about 57 landed houses were found in the district you've list, under $8000, has 3 bedrooms, and is at least 1500 sq ft. Most look fairly nice in appearance in my opinion...but I don't know if you will have a car or can walk more than 1km to mrt, etc. Having a car changes the dynamics significantly. Also, some people prefer not to walk so much in the heat, so the distance to MRT is a big factor for those without a car.

People's definition of nice and other's vary. Some will only consider renovated units as nice, while others believe original condition conservation houses to be nice. It just depends on you.

[Tropigal3]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I guess "nice" is subjective. Nice to me is clean and newer looking.

Since buying a car seems to be quite pricy, we will most likely have just one. Husband may be the one taking MRT while I drive our son to and from school, etc.

[zzm9980]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I guess "nice" is subjective. Nice to me is clean and newer looking.

You're going to find "nice" houses that meet that criteria everywhere then. You'll find run down old houses right next to brand new glass and steel beauties everywhere. There is no general "run down" neighborhoods vs "newer" neighborhoods.

[Tropigal3]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I guess "nice" is subjective. Nice to me is clean and newer looking.

You're going to find "nice" houses that meet that criteria everywhere then. You'll find run down old houses right next to brand new glass and steel beauties everywhere. There is no general "run down" neighborhoods vs "newer" neighborhoods.

Oh that's good to know. So I guess I should choose by what I want nearby, like high school, MRT, grocery, etc.

[zzm9980]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I guess "nice" is subjective. Nice to me is clean and newer looking.

You're going to find "nice" houses that meet that criteria everywhere then. You'll find run down old houses right next to brand new glass and steel beauties everywhere. There is no general "run down" neighborhoods vs "newer" neighborhoods.

Oh that's good to know. So I guess I should choose by what I want nearby, like high school, MRT, grocery, etc.

Exactly. Avoid being near the airport if you don't like noise (although the runways are aligned to not fly over houses) and avoid Geylang if you don't like redlight districts. Otherwise, almost all the same.

[elspike]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I guess "nice" is subjective. Nice to me is clean and newer looking.

Since buying a car seems to be quite pricy, we will most likely have just one. Husband may be the one taking MRT while I drive our son to and from school, etc.

Do take a look at the school bus services. They pick up and drop off at the door of your place. Not too pricy (equivalent to driving each day) and will free up a lot of your time.