Originally Posted by
Amber Woods
You need to be in the shoes of a PR to understand what they are looking at.
Like what the expat forumer said, HDB resale flats are still a lot cheaper than private flats.
But the most important consideration for PRs when come to housing is that they would compare buying a flat vs renting one. By buying a HDB resale flat, the PR stands to recoup all the money thrown into housing when the HDB resale flat is eventually sold prior to the PR family leaving Singapore. With a bit of luck, he might even be able to make a good capital gain on selling his HDB resale flat. If the PR rents a flat, he will never be able to recoup any rentals when he leaves.
For example, assuming the PR pays $2,000 per month to rent a HDB flat and assuming he will work in Singapore for the next 20 years before deciding to retire back in his home country, his total rental expenses will be $480,000 for the whole of 20 years. This money, of course, cannot be recovered.
Assuming he buys a 4 room HDB resale at $500,000, he will still come out better even if he loses, say, $300,000 (including interests) when he sells his flat 20 years later. And certainly, the downside risk in buying a HDB resale flat is a lot lesser than buying a private one.
In their minds, PRs will tend to compare with rentals. And for this reason, they are also more willing to aggressively bid for a HDB resale flat.