Nine in 10 senior buyers of two-room flexi flats opt for shorter leases: HDB

SHORT-LEASE flats remain popular among senior homebuyers, with nine in 10 taking up the option when purchasing two-room flexi flats, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday (Sep 27). 

Introduced in 2015, the two-room flexi scheme allows buyers aged 55 and up to either choose a 99-year lease or a shorter one of 15 to 45 years, depending on their needs. 

Some 92 per cent of seniors – or 20,185 out of 21,901 – who booked two-room flexi flats opted for a shorter lease. The remaining 8 per cent, or 1,716 buyers, chose a 99-year lease flat. 

The 40-year lease was the most popular, with 27.3 per cent of senior buyers opting for it. This was followed by the 35-year lease with 24.4 per cent of buyers and the 30-year lease, with 16.4 per cent of buyers. 

Only 298 senior buyers chose the shortest lease of 15 years.

Almost all these short-lease two-room flexi flats – including those with the longest tenure of 45 years – were priced below S$200,000.

The majority of such flats in non-mature estates were priced below S$100,000.

Since the launch of the scheme in 2015, HDB said around 53,900 two-room flexi flats have been offered. About 71 per cent, or 38,378 units, have been booked so far, and keys have been issued for 22,822 units. 

More than half – 57 per cent – of the units sold were bought by seniors, with the rest taken up by singles and families. 

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HDB said more two-room flexi flats will be offered at the upcoming October 2024 Build-To-Order sales exercise. They are in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Kallang/Whampoa, Pasir Ris and Sengkang.