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May 8, 2010
'Mickey mouse flats' hot
Record number of flats of 500 sq ft or less sold last year; demand still strong so far this year
<!-- by line --> By Esther Teo
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There were 696 flats of 500 sq ft or less in size sold last year, based on caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
SALES of small apartments - the so-called mickey mouse flats - skyrocketed last year and are still going strong this year. There were 696 flats of 500 sq ft or less in size sold last year, based on caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system. That is the highest level since such records began in 1995. And sales of units between 500 and 800 sq ft hit 1,285 last year, according to a report from property firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
Buyer interest is still strong with 533 units of 800 sq ft or less sold in the first four months of this year. The total number of flats of 800 sq ft or less in the primary residential market comprises about 23 per cent of the 2,300 caveats lodged since yesterday, CBRE said. CBRE residential executive director Joseph Tan said: 'What started as a notable trend in 2009 appears to have caught on in the early part of 2010.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
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