We purchased a home on Carousell – here is what we discovered, Cash Information

The digital aspects of Singapore’s private real estate market have taken on new heights – from a time when people didn’t trust online listings to today when you can buy a home with the tap of your phone.

On this week’s real estate trip, we take a look at how a couple found their dream home online and on Carousell:

Buy without an agent

P & A are a couple in their mid twenties who also shared their home buying journey on Instagram @ ourfirsthome.sg. The couple had previously been with their parents and really wanted to get their own place. However, they did not go the usual route and contacted an agent.

“As a first-time homeowner, we decided not to use a real estate agent to save some money,” they said. In addition, they had “narrowed our options to a resale HDB”.

Real estate agents typically have service fees * between one and two percent. For example, for a 3 bedroom resale apartment for $ 350,000, the additional cost is often between $ 3,500 and $ 7,000.

However, HDB Homes provides good support for home buyers and sellers looking for do-it-yourself (DIY) transactions. HDB has a resale portal for buyers and sellers who are willing to do so.

* These prices are negotiable and not fixed.

Finding the right home

Because P&A wanted a home of their own as soon as possible, they were switched to a resale unit rather than a BTO (Built To Order) apartment. A new home typically takes four to five years to build, so this is not an option for those who need their own space right away.

There were also three specific criteria the couple looked for in a house:

Feng Shui: We both believe in Feng Shui and have calculated our ideal direction for the main door! This was an extremely important factor during our house hunting trip, but also a challenge as it was very specific

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Central location – close to the CBD where we work and also close to A’s parents for the proximity grant!

Amenities – A short walk to the MRT, accessible supermarket and restaurants

The Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) is only valid for resale apartments. This provides a $ 20,000 grant for home buyers living within four kilometers of their children or parents.

(The PHG is also available to singles, but the grant amount is only up to $ 15,000.)

Note that two of the above properties – a central location and amenities like supermarkets – usually go together. As a rule of thumb, the more central the location, the higher the likelihood that an MRT station / supermarket is within walking distance.

Looking for a home on Carousell

This is not a sponsored post from Carousell.

“We started with the popular platforms like Property Guru and 99.co and arranged our own viewings,” said P&A, “but despite looking at almost 40 units over a period of three months, we were unfortunately unable to find one to find dream home that meets all of our criteria.

One night I got the idea to look for Carousell. While in doubt I started typing in some street names we had looked at and stumbled upon our current home for sale (listed by the seller himself). “

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One of the advantages P&A found with Carousell was the range of options:

“You definitely get more options as some of these listings are posted by the owners / sellers themselves and are not available anywhere else. We encourage other buyers to check out Carousell, too, provided you already have some properties in mind that you can search through with keywords. “

However, you may need a little more time sifting through the listings as the couple also discovered that “Carousell is a platform for everyone and you have to search through thousands of listings, which can be quite daunting. Listings are also not presented as well as those on Property Guru or 99.co by qualified agents.

You need a lot of patience to find your ideal home. “

View and unfold

Even without a real estate agent. P&A found the process went smoothly:

“The reporting process was quick and straightforward. We made an appointment directly with the sellers the next day. We have already looked at a few units in this resale project so we are familiar with this area. After confirming that the unit’s feng shui was ideal for us, we immediately made an offer. “

Ads are more productive when you already have a clear idea of ​​what you want or are familiar with the field. This is one of the reasons we encourage buyers to discuss their needs and shortlist the requirements first.

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A common mistake that P&A has avoided is meandering with random contemplations and hoping for something that catches their eye. Buyers who do this are more likely to make poor decisions as they can be caught on the fly.

P&A also found that the negotiations were straightforward:

“The negotiations also went smoothly as there was no agent involved in this transaction on either side. We have shown our sincerity to the sellers and made a fair offer, albeit less than what they asked for. You accepted the offer within three days. “

The transaction was remarkably quick as the couple knew what they wanted:

“It didn’t take us much time to proceed with the purchase,” the couple told us. “We only needed one tour and we were sure that this unit was the right one for us, as unit fengshui was the key factor.

We also love that it’s a new MOP apartment (suitable for young couples like us) and the amenities that come with it. Although we were a little worried that the unit would not be renovated and that we would not have an agent with us to do the administrative work, we decided to take the leap of faith. “

A “new MOP” apartment refers to apartments that have just reached their first five-year minimum occupancy period (MOP). These apartments are ideal for younger buyers as lease expiration (all HDB apartments have leases with a term of 99 years) is considered less significant.

A five-year-old apartment therefore offers the opportunity to move in immediately without having lost the potential for resale profits.

The couple’s three-bedroom apartment in Commonwealth 10

The three bedroom apartment P&A purchased was a 63 square meter apartment in Commonwealth 10. This is an HDB development just 240 meters, or about a three minute walk, from the Commonwealth MRT station.

According to 99.co, the current average price for this development is 848 psf:

These are five of the most recent three bedroom apartment transactions in Commonwealth 10:

“It met all of our expectations and beyond,” said P&A, “it’s within walking distance of the MRT and Tanglin Halt food centers. There are also plenty of old-school stores right below it, including hair salons, massage parlors, Wet markets and mamak shops, we love the convenience and friendly atmosphere of the neighbors.

Although the device itself is “bare” and not renovated, we figured this would be better for us to do a complete overhaul too! “

Longtime readers will know that we recommend not renovating before selling to add value. This is an example of what we’re talking about: Most buyers will want to “style” the home according to their own preferences anyway.

It’s often better to sell the device as it is than to pay for renovations that next buyers have to chop off.

Would you use Carousell to buy a home again?

The Carousell house hunt experience seems to have worked out well for the couple:

“We would try to sell our home on Carousell again as we will see significant savings by paying the brokerage fees.

Selling can of course take longer as not many are used to the idea of ​​looking for a house at Carousell. We’d be looking for our next home on Carousell again too, along with other real estate platforms to make sure we cover all the reasons! “

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In case you want to use Carousell to find a property, here is some advice from them:

“Research! This is important because you don’t want to be “betrayed” by agents or sellers. Always find out about the market price for the various properties, room types, HDB guidelines and regulations. especially when you don’t have an agent to represent you.

You can refer to PropertyGuru’s previous transaction history or SRX to determine the estimated value for your home. Also, take the time to look at more units before deciding which option is best for you! “

For those of you researching the Singapore private property market, note that almost all of the other websites use URA transaction data which you can review online. The data is based on reservations and reflects actual transaction prices rather than list prices.

This article was first published in Stackedhomes.