To buy a resale or wait for BTO as a single.

Hi everyone,

I have a budget of about $300k and am weighing two options:

Resale Flat: For this budget, I can get a resale flat in a central location. However, the flat would have about 45 years remaining on the lease.
BTO Flat: A new BTO would cost around $140k, but it would be located far from the city center. I’d also need to rent for about 5 years while waiting for the BTO to be ready. Assuming rental costs are $2,000/month, that’s an additional $120k. So the total cost for the BTO would be around $260k, including rent.

I’m 49, so I’m not too concerned about the remaining lease on the resale. Given the trade-off between location and lease length, I’m leaning towards the resale flat but would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks in advance!

Discussion (14)

What are your thoughts?

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kirby

01 Feb 2025

BTO

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YOC

31 Jan 2025

Depends if you value the convenience of the resale.

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24 Jan 2025

Owow

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Ace

12 Jan 2025

Other than getting a home, I would consider also retirement goals after 40 (e.g. having a steady stream of income even if I am not working). As BTOs are cheaper may help build retirement income.

If retirement goals have been separately considered, and housing is the only concern, then I would go for location - where do you want to stay / what you will be doing in the next 5-20 years once your house is ready.

BTO/resale is both ok. Not all BTOs are far from city, it's all dependent on timing of application. But the wait is real for BTOs.

I considered these when I bought my resale as single:

1) affordability - I wanted to repay my housing loan as soon as possible (not everyone will agree w me but I hate to owe anyone $), renovation is in cash so I estimated the amount I needed (e.g. 30K) and minus from my budget. So with this, I also try to look for flats with minimal renovations required.

2) location - proximity to work place / job opportunities, healthcare (in case I need them/my parent needs them / places I frequent (e.g church), proximity to amenities (food, grocery) / transport (MRT/buses) - I want to be able to move around easily - so I searched property sites using 5mins from MRT. time = money.

I also thought if the location is good - even if I dun stay, I can rent it after 5 years (and stay w parent).
In the end, it really depends what you need in your 50s and 60s, think ahead, look at property sites, go to the neighbourhood (where you have shortlisted) and see if you like it.

Hope this helps.

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