Singaporeans applying for large Housing Board flats appear more willing to live with their parents, with strong interest in the new "three-generation" (3Gen) flats, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
"The launch of 3Gen flats has clearly encouraged more to consider multi-generation living. This is a good sign," he said in a blog post on Wednesday.
He noted that out of the 1,152 applications for a pool of five-room and 3Gen flats in a recent Build-to-Order exercise in Yishun, 378 of them - about one third of applications - came from multi-generation families. In the past year, only 3 per cent of all five-room flat applicants opted for the Married Child Priority Scheme to live with their parents.
Most of the multi-generation applicants in the Yishun BTO exercise already have a flat, and are upgrading to a larger one for their growing family, as well as to live with their parents.
But a third are applying for a flat for the first time, and many of them are having or already have kids. Mr Khaw said that of the first-timer multi-generation families, six in 10 are either expecting or have young children below the age of 16.
This first-timer group tends to be older as well. Their median age is 39, higher than the median age of 30 for first-time five-room flat buyers. "These families may be living with their parents, and can look forward to enjoying more space with a 3Gen flat," he said.
Mr Khaw also noted that one in 10 of these first-timer households - who tend to be young with a median age of 32 - has no children.
"I am happy they are planning ahead to move into a larger flat to better take care of their ageing parents and future children," he said, adding that the Government "should continue to facilitate multi-generation living for Singaporeans who wish to do so".
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