What is your motivation to sell your HDB?

After the minimum occupation period, many HDB owners are compelled to sell their properties.

Many would ask me whether they should sell their property or not. Usually, I get dumbstruck by that question. Imagine going to a car showroom and asking the salesman whether you should buy a car.

Sure, I can breakdown the numbers for you. I can show you the profit or loss of selling your current property. I can show you the properties that you can afford. I can show you charts of property prices.

To be honest, I can’t answer that question. I don’t believe that people are selling purely because of monetary reasons. Many are actually doing a selfless act. And these are some reasons why I call it a selfless act:

Asset Progression

Buying a better type of property asset, or the more commonly known term as asset progression. Buyers usually come from a dual-income family, where both husband and wife are earning a median average income. These buyers are usually between 28 to 40 years old.

Buyers who opt for asset progression can choose to buy a resale private condo, newly launched executive condo or a newly launched private condo. Buyers who are considering asset progression are actually planning for their retirement. Many of whom inspire to break free from being the “sandwich class.”

To read more about asset progression, read this link.

HDB Upgraders

Some families grow bigger after a few years, thus these buyers are in need of a bigger space, which their current house is not able to accommodate. They want to make room for their parents to live with them. Or they want to have more kids. Or their kids are getting older and need their own rooms. A bulk of HDB sellers are HDB upgraders looking for bigger resale flats, though the numbers are falling as many are opting for asset progression.

Relocating

Some buyers need a place to be more convenient to their workplace, children’s school or to be nearer to their parents. These are some of the considerations that they have when relocating. This is so that they will spend less time commuting to and fro from work and can spend more quality time with their kids and parents.

Downsizing

After a certain age, homeowners will want to have a simpler and smaller place to live in. The number of people in the household will get smaller as their children grow up and have their own home. A smaller house means lesser maintenance.

By selling their house, they can also cash out some of the cash proceed to fund for their retirement. This will help ease their burden to their children who may have been taking care of them. With the extra cash, they can also spend that money on their grandchildren.

Different strokes for different folks

If you are planning to sell your home, ask yourself, why are you doing so? Just saying that you want to unlock the cash proceeds is not enough. Your journey as a home seller might end, but as a home buyer, it has just begun.

So next time when you see your friend or colleague sell their house, they may or may not have made a profit from their sale. However, they are actually doing it because they are doing an act of altruism. Congratulate them and give them a pat on the back. It’s not an easy decision for everyone.