New work-from-home demands and privacy needs are push factors for young Singaporeans to leave home and rent their own flat. — Picture courtesy of ConvertKit/Unsplash via TODAY
Hans , a 32-year-old creative freelancer, currently lives in his parents’ three-bedroom condominium apartment, but he recently secured a rental room for S$600 a month. He resorted to working from 11pm to 7am when everyone is asleep so that he could truly concentrate. That was when he realised that he needed to do something.The sticking points were for things like his preference for a night light in the living room. His parents felt that he was wasting electricity.Hans is also someone who usually works overseas for most parts of the year and is seldom home for a stretch of more than four months.
But they softened their stance when it became apparent in early April that one of the rules during the circuit breaker was that couples would not be allowed to meet if they do not live together. According to real estate portal SRX’s flash report for July’s numbers, transaction volume in the private condominium rental market contracted 7.2 per cent between June and July, and were down by 32.3 per cent compared to last July.