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HE HAD wanted to buy a 4-room flat in Ang Mo Kio, but settled for Yishun instead when he couldn't afford it.
It was probably one of the best decisions that 53-year-old driver Low Hoon Chee made. He saved $50,000 and Ang Mo Kio is just three MRT stops away from Yishun.
With a shopping centre and swimming pool within walking distance, Mr Low said it feels like he has a full suite of condo facilities and added: "I feel like a king, even though I live in a flat."
He is one of many homebuyers who are not willing to pay high prices for flats in central or mature estates.
A two-room HDB flat in Chinatown made headlines after it was sold for $245,000 two months ago. That, to Mr Low, is the height of insanity.
After all, flats in outlying areas tend to be cheaper, bigger and newer compared to their counterparts located in
a more prime location.
When Mr Low sold his three-room flat in Toa Payoh 13 years ago for $168,000, he wanted to upgrade to a four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio, as he and his wife was expecting their second child.
After all, he had made a handsome profit, having bought it for $52,000 seven years earlier. But with his budget of $200,000, he could afford only a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.
The four-room flats in Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh were going for around $250,000 then, said Mr Low. The couple then decided to look for a unit in Yishun - buying a 84 sq m flat there for just $200,000.
Although his wife, Madam Xu Li Hua, 38, a housewife, found Yishun inaccessible at first, she now prefers her current home to her former flat in Toa Payoh.
She said: "I prefer our flat now, it's much bigger than our old home. I want to live here till I grow old." Mr Low added: "Why should I buy a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio when I can get a four-room flat in Yishun for just $200,000?"
He not only could get a bigger flat, he even managed to get a unit on a high floor.
Mr Low said: "My wife and I fell in love with the flat when we came to view it the first time. We sat there for
an hour without moving, enjoying the breeze on the high floor. The feeling was so 'shiok'."
His home, which is on the 11th storey of a block along Yishun Avenue 2, is just five to 10 minutes' walk from Yishun MRT station. It is also a brisk 10 minutes' walk to Northpoint Shopping Centre and is close to amenities such as a wet market, coffee shops and two parks - the Yishun Town Garden and the Nee Soon Central Community Park.
Mr Low also goes swimming with his son almost every day because there's a swimming pool just a few minutes' walk from his home.
He added: "It's almost like living in a condominium, just that I don't have to pay maintenance fees. Where else can I find such a good flat?"
And the prices of flats in Yishun might rise even further, especially with the opening of the Khoo Teck Puat hospital this year, and an air-conditioned interchange at Yishun which is due to be completed in 2013.
Mr Low's flat is worth around $270,000 today. Conversely, a four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio 10 minutes' walk away from the MRT station would be worth around $400,000, based on recent transacted prices. That's a $130,000 price difference between two estates just three MRT stations apart.
While some may argue that nothing beats living in a prime location, industry watchers say that moving from a prime location to an outlying one may be a good decision.
Associate director of ERA Asia Pacific Eugene Lim said of home owners in the suburban areas: "The primary motivation for these home buyers is to pay a lower price for more space."
Affordable
Mr Lim said that couples usually start out with a smaller flat in the central area because of convenience.
But some will move towards the suburban areas because units there are more affordable, given the space.
Mr Eric Cheng, CEO of ECG Property, said that four-room flats in Yishun tend to be cheaper than other estates because Yishun is a big town, so the large supply of flats, relative to the demand for flats there, keeps prices low.
The price difference there, as compared to some other housing estates, could range between $40,000 and $100,000.
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/My+Money/Property/Story/A1Story20100119-192806.html
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