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1-bedroom flats

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Sergei82
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1-bedroom flats

Post by Sergei82 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:47 am

Maybe it was discussed already, could not find anything.

So interesting: why nobody builds 1-bedroom apartments in SG? Is it a custom of some kind?
A single person either needs to pay for huge amount of excessive space or share the flat with flatmates (DISGUSTING!!!)!

Maybe it is some kind of marketing strategy? (like... absence of 1 litre bottles with Coke in supermarket - it is either 0.5 or 1.5 litres, never just as much as you need)

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Post by ScoobyDoes » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:56 am

Not sure what you mean, all the recent 'Shoe Box' apartments in the last couple of years are 1-bedroom and in the 4-500sqft range.

I had a colleague years ago stay in a studio apartment in River Valley.
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Post by Sergei82 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:10 am

I came here more than 3 years ago - no 1-bedroom flats at all (this type of housing is unheard of here), very few studios, and those which were available are not bigger than dog houses. When I was living in Seoul, there is plenty of housing of any size. HUGE contrast.

Last time I was on the market looking to rent a place was 1.5 years back. You could not go lower that 2-room, everything that is smaller virtually did not exist. Did I miss some big change in housing condition of Singapore???

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:21 am

SG doesn't do housing for singles.

Singles tend to be alt.

SG fears alt young people.

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Post by Sergei82 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:29 am

Hmmm… you may be right as I see how old is the president they elected. Ironically, his motto was: confidence in the future. If I have a president who already looks like a walking dead, I do not have any confidence in the future. :)

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Post by nakatago » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:39 am

JR8 wrote:SG doesn't do housing for singles.

Singles tend to be alt.

SG fears alt young people.
THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS.
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Post by Sergei82 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:55 am

Actually, not convinced...

Do singles ganging up in an apartment cease to be alt?

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Post by Addadude » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:21 pm

I'm really not sure why people keep saying there are no 1 bedroom apartments in Sg. They are out there - and I'm not just talking about the recent spate of shoeboxes. From personal experience I have come across them at Bayshore Park, Valley Park, The Mirage, Craig Place, Burlington Sq (I lived in one there myself for 3 years), Harbourview Towers, Eastern Lagoon I and II, Mandarin Gardens, Centrepoint Apartments, the old Fairways condo, the old Sophia Park (I can't remember the name, Riverwalk Apartments and Bedok Court. These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are plenty more.
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Post by nakatago » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:22 pm

Southeast Asians don't have the culture of living alone by adulthood. How many Singaporeans in their 20's/30's out there still live with their parents?

Those who do, can't buy HDB's so HDB won't build a lot of them, except for the elderly and the poor. Because we're foreigners.

A small, one-bedroom or studio apartment doesn't make one look rich. If you're rich, surely you can rent/purchase at least two bedrooms, right? Studio apartment just doesn't scream "I make $#!tloads of many." All it says about you is "I like being on my own and yet live within my means." Except those expensive ones.
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Post by Sergei82 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:28 pm

Addadude wrote:I'm really not sure why people keep saying there are no 1 bedroom apartments in Sg. They are out there - and I'm not just talking about the recent spate of shoeboxes. From personal experience I have come across them at Bayshore Park, Valley Park, The Mirage, Craig Place, Burlington Sq (I lived in one there myself for 3 years), Harbourview Towers, Eastern Lagoon I and II, Mandarin Gardens, Centrepoint Apartments, the old Fairways condo, the old Sophia Park (I can't remember the name, Riverwalk Apartments and Bedok Court. These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are plenty more.
I'm gradually coming up with some theory:
1) there are 1-bedrooms, but very few in comparison with other countries,
2) price of those which are available is overstretched to extent that it is better of with 2-bedroom anyway.
Anything wrong with this reasoning?
nakatago wrote:"I like being on my own and yet live within my means."
That is exactly where I want to be!

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Post by nakatago » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:36 pm

Sergei82 wrote:
nakatago wrote:"I like being on my own and yet live within my means."
That is exactly where I want to be!
Sorry, buddy. It's all about appearing richer than you really are in Southeast Asia.

Cars. Clothes. Expensive toys...you know the drill.
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Post by v4jr4 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 1:01 pm

nakatago wrote:Southeast Asians don't have the culture of living alone by adulthood. How many Singaporeans in their 20's/30's out there still live with their parents?
Singapore is not that big. It's not like you'll need 3-4 hours to travel from home to office. And to say it's cheaper to live with parents... :mrgreen:
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Post by Addadude » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 6:53 pm

Sergei82 wrote: I'm gradually coming up with some theory:
1) there are 1-bedrooms, but very few in comparison with other countries,
2) price of those which are available is overstretched to extent that it is better of with 2-bedroom anyway.
Anything wrong with this reasoning?
1) My impressions from my home town Dublin and from my time in London is that the ratio of 1-bedroom or studio apartments to 2-bedroom ones are about the same as Singapore. I could be wrong though as I'm speaking from subjective experience.

2) Depends on your lifestyle. For quite a few years I deliberately rented a 2-bed apartment simply because that way I would have room for my parents when they came over to visit me. When it came to a stage that they were unlikely to come over anymore, I downsized from a large (1200 sq ft) 2-bed apt in the East Coast to a much smaller (600 sq ft) 1 bed apt at Burlington Sq. I was still paying the same rental as the 2-bedder but for a smaller, more easily maintained (by me) place in the city. I thought that was a great deal. My local friends thought I was mad to give up all that extra space.

Interestingly, with all this talk about tiny shoebox flats, I was just checking out house prices in Dublin (www.daft.ie) and I was amazed at how small some of the tiny old 'artisan' cottages were. (These places were built 70 - 100 years ago). We're talking 450 sq ft total area - including living room, hall, kitchen, bathroom and 'double' bedroom! Even 1 bedroom apts from 20 - 30 years ago were in the sub-500 sq ft range.
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Post by Wd40 » Fri, 11 Jan 2013 7:15 pm

The issue is not actually lack of 1 bedroom flats. The issue is high housing costs. Atleast other countries have something known as suburbs or satellite towns and you can stay far away and then drive to the city. Singapore doesnt have that option.

Also this stupid concept of sharing common room and master room has caused cheapo asians to come here and live at low costs.

Actually, its good that jobs are going away from here. If you think about it who is mainly benefiting from the high rents here? The employers are on the losing end as they need to create huge expat packages just to mitigate the high rents and also the employees themselves are not gaining from the overpriced properties. It is the local landlords who are gaining from this.

So its good that MNCs are moving jobs out so now the greedy landlords can sit on their empty pigeon holes and suck thumb.

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Post by rajagainstthemachine » Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:42 pm

A lot of people are in the same predicament, look at me for example
As a single working professional I have 2 choices
1. pay around 2500-3000 for a whole unit
2. share with room mates

fortunately I have the good fortune of living with my school buddy of 18 yrs so we put up with each other.
but lets say I didn't have i knew so well putting up strange room mates is always going to be a problem.

If the govt wants to make singapore look like an attractive viable option for expats then they should also accommodate all kinds of housing options including single bedroom apartments.

If I am not mistaken tiong bahru has a lot of single bedroom hdb units but they are meant for pensioners or older people only.

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