Why buy a private condominium?

In one of my previous articles ‘Why HDB owners are happier than private estate owners’, I was quite critical and against owning a private property.

While I still believe that majority of Singaporeans should live in HDB, buying a private property does come with its benefits.

Security

The most obvious of all is the sense of security provided.

If you manage to get pass the 24-hour security guards and main entrance barrier, one still needs to have an access card to go through the countless number of other gates in the premises itself.

As a private property owner, you can rest assure that your property is safe from intruders. This is particularly important for families with little children, or if you have lots of high value items displayed in your home.

Facilities

The most basic condominium will have at least a swimming pool and gym facility. However, with the newer launches, swimming pools are becoming a thing of the past.

Developers are becoming more creative with their facility offerings. There are some which offer free shuttle transport to nearby MRT stations and gym classes such as kickboxing and yoga. There is even one condo that has a man-made beach near the pool!

Minimum Occupation Period

For private condominiums, there is no minimum occupation period, unlike HDB. You can buy the property and sell it back in the market the next day.

Before the cooling measures were introduced, many property investors were doing so. This method is called ‘flipping property’. Flipping properties are not profitable anymore with the introduction of duties like ABSD and SSD. But, one can still sell their private condominium any time they want to.

No restrictions on foreigners

For both leasehold and freehold condo, there are no restriction on the citizenship of the buyer.

This is unlike purchasing a HDB flat where one of the buyers must be at least a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident, and foreigners are strictly not allowed to buy.

When there is no citizenship restriction, the price of the property tends to be higher as the pool of eligible buyers is bigger.

No income restriction

To own a private condominium, there is no income ceiling.

For example, there is a household income ceiling of $14,000 for an Executive Condo (EC). Hence, households earning more than $14,000 are not eligible to purchase an EC.

Without this restriction, there is more pool of buyers.

Are Private Condominiums suitable for you?

One point I did not mention is the location of the condominium. Private condos are usually situated at strategic locations. However, there are also HDB and Executive Condos that have the same physical factor.

At the end of the day, buying a property is about affordability. I recommend that you first take my Affordability Calculator to see whether buying a private condo is suitable for you. A private condominium is definitely one of the best choice, IF you can afford it.