Possible incentives for parents who move out to join children in non-mature estates: Khaw

Such a move would free up resale flats for children who wish to live near their parents in mature towns, said Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan. He did not give details of the possible incentives, but pledged that his ministry would look at how to make it a practical and fair policy.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Mr Khaw also updated readers on a door-to-door survey commissioned by the Ministry of National Development (MND) to find out Singaporeans' attitude towards living with or near their parents after marriage.

The survey was conducted on a representative sample of some 2,000 Singaporeans.

Mr Khaw called the results 'heart-warming', with 84 per cent of unmarried Singaporeans planning to live with their parents (55 per cent) or close by in the same town (29 per cent) after marriage.

The survey also found that 68 per cent of parents with adult married children are either living with their children or within the same town.

According to Mr Khaw: "The survey confirmed that family ties and interactions are important to Singaporeans."

Other survey findings on unmarried children:

- Those who plan to live with their parents after marriage cite being able to look after their parents (41 per cent) and being close to them (38 per cent) as their most important reasons.

- Only 2 per cent cite "cannot afford to move out" as their most important reason.

- Those who plan to set up their own home after marriage do so mostly for independence and privacy (43 per cent) or to own their own home and have an asset (31 per cent).

- While some plan to set up their own home after marriage, most (65 per cent) of them want to live close to their parents: 4 per cent want to live next door; 3 per cent want to live in the same block; 42 per cent want to live in the same neighbourhood; and 16 per cent want to live in the same town.

- 96 per cent of unmarried children said they would see their parents at least once a week after their marriage.

- For those who plan to set up their own home after marriage, the most important factors they would consider when buying a home are being near family (37 per cent), buying a property within their budget (22 per cent) and having good facilities and connectivity (22 per cent).

For married children:

- Currently, 35 per cent of married children live with their parents. 2 per cent live in the same block; 12 per cent live in the same neighbourhood; 4 per cent live in the same town; 15 per cent live in the same region; and 32 per cent live in a different region.

-Those who live with their parents cite being able to look after their parents (46 per cent), being close to their parent (23 per cent), and having their parents look after children (19 per cent) as their most important reasons. Only 1 per cent cite "cannot afford to move out" as their most important reason.

- Those who live apart from their parents mostly did so for independence and privacy (32 per cent) or to own their own home and have an asset (25 per cent).

- Among married children who have set up their own homes, only 28 per cent live in the same town as their parents or nearer. 23 per cent live in the same region, while 49 per cent live in a different region.

-Nonetheless, 72 per cent of married children saw their parents at least once a week.

- For married children who live apart or plan to live apart from their parents, the most important factors they would consider when buying a house are being near family (29 per cent), having good facilities and connectivity (26 per cent), and buying a property that is within their budget (24 per cent).

candicec@sph.com.sg