Shoebox units, homes with less than 500 sq ft, made up 17.3 per cent of private home purchases by HDB owners in the last quarter of 2013. For the whole of last year, 13.3 per cent of private home purchase by Housing Development Board (HDB) owners is shoebox unit. Some popular shoebox units are Bartley Ridge at Mount Vernon Road, D'Nest in Pasir Ris and J Gateway in Jurong East.
The purchase of shoebox unit is likely to be for investment as most HDB flat owners are living in more than 500 sqft HDB flat. The interest from HDB dwellers in private home purchase has increased. HDB dwellers accounted for 62 per cent of all the purchase of private property sales last year, up from 60 per cent in 2012. However, the transaction of shoebox units fell last year together with the drop in buying interest for private homes. The sales of shoebox units fell 32 per cent to 2,057 units last year. According to DTZ, the overall private home sales fell 40 per cent last year due to the cooling measures. The overall private home sales were dragged down by fewer sub-sales and resales. These secondary transactions fell to 7,755 units, recording the lowest volume since 2004.
This year will continue to be a buyers' market as sales volume is expected to remain weak and buyers to be more resistant to price and selective on projects. Certain projects such as The Hillford received strong demand during its launch last month at a median price of $1,105 per sq ft (psf). According to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), all 281 units are sold in a day. The favourable response suggests that there are still buyers in the market looking for a good deal.
Foreign demand could return as the foreign purchases only fell by a small amount as compared to the purchase made by Singaporeans and permanent residents. Buyers from mainland China top the foreign buyer's chart, followed by Malaysians and Indonesians.
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