This couple cannot afford to live in Singapore anymore because of rising property prices

How are rising real estate prices impacting the lives of Singaporeans and long-term residents? How have their dreams for the future been affected, what have they had to sacrifice, and how have they adjusted their lifestyles and living arrangements as a result?

The last couple of years have not been good for Singapore homebuyers and renters. A combination of factors – rising interest rates, construction delays and a housing shortage – has seen HDB apartments selling for as much as $1 million, and rental hikes of at least 20 per cent.

The latest government cooling measures, announced in September 2022, were designed to rein in skyrocketing property prices. The measures – which entailed a higher medium-term interest rate floor for bank and HDB housing loan eligibility, a reduction of Loan-to-Value limit for HDB housing loans from 85 to 80 per cent, and a 15-month wait for private property owners under 55 years old who want to purchase non-subsidised HDB resale flats – don’t seem to have helped much, with the property market expected to continue its bullish run in 2023, despite the gloomy global economic outlook.

For Nicole (not her real name), a 39-year-old British, rising real estate prices mean that she and her family cannot afford to live in Singapore anymore. Here's her story:

“My husband and I arrived in Singapore in 2016, after I accepted a job at an international school. We loved it right from the start. Coming from a quiet, sleepy town in cold, rainy England, we were excited to be in a warm, tropical place that had plenty to offer. We also liked the cultural diversity here and had no trouble fitting in.

We moved into a spacious condo with our two children, who were preschoolers at the time. My husband continued his job as a freelance art director for a company in the UK so he worked from home, unless he was required to travel overseas for meetings and special projects. We also had a live-in domestic helper, who looked after our kids and home for us.

Our first five years in Singapore were blissful. We enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, regular holidays around Asia and annual trips back home.

When my husband lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic, everything changed. He couldn’t find work in Singapore, so my salary became our family’s only source of income. Eventually, even paying our kids’ school expenses became a struggle, and we had to let our helper go because we could no longer afford her.

We realised that we could save almost $4,000 a month if we moved into an HDB flat or a smaller condo – but finding one was easier said than done. For starters, suitable flats in the $3,000-to-$3,500 range were few and far between, and snapped up before we could even view them. For almost a year, we searched for a decent property that would accommodate our family. Social distancing measures also meant that it wasn’t always possible for us to get physical access to a property, and it was difficult assessing the suitability of a place through virtual tours.

In September last year, my husband was offered a well-paying job that he could not refuse – the only catch was that he had to move back to England. By then, we had just about given up on finding a new apartment to rent. Continuing to live in our condo was no longer sustainable, because part of the rent was now coming out of our savings.

In October, my husband made the difficult decision to return to England with our kids. He started his new job right away and enrolled our little ones in a local primary school near his parents’ place, and his mum minds the kids when he’s at work.

I moved out of our condo and am currently renting a room at a friend’s house. My job contract ends in a few months, and I won’t be renewing it because I don’t want to be separated from my husband and kids for much longer. I feel terrible about leaving my job because it pays well and I love the people I work with, but I don’t have any other choice. My husband and I haven’t ruled out returning to Singapore in a few years if the property market improves for renters. 

I read that the pandemic caused a lot of construction delays, which ultimately led to a shortage of rental properties and thus a greater demand for homes and skyrocketing rents. Still, I didn’t think it would be so difficult securing a decent-sized place in an estate of our choice.

The thought of saying goodbye to Singapore makes me incredibly sad. I’ve actually been depressed about it. If my husband hadn’t lost his job, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation, but it shouldn’t be this hard for a family of four to find a suitable dwelling here on just one income.”