Rising appeal of resale HDB flats

YOUNG couples in Singapore on the hunt for their own home typically make a beeline for build-to-order (BTO) flats, what with handsome grants for first-time buyers and potential resale gains of up to 20 per cent.

But anecdotal evidence suggests that more Singaporeans are now giving up the "gift" and turning to resale HDB flats instead. Particularly over the last 2 years, supply-chain issues and construction manpower shortage have translated to a longer waiting time for BTO flats. That, plus the lack of BTO units in certain locations, as well as a desire for bigger flats, are the biggest reasons driving homebuyers to the resale market, as Brunch in The Business Times Weekend finds out.

Meanwhile, in The Steering Column, the spotlight's on Jaguar's XF, the forgotten executive car that suffers from the fact that it isn't a BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E-Class. BT Weekend discovers that the best thing about it is that it isn't a BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E-Class.