Bachelor editions

There is an increasing genre of singles or newlyweds purchasing starter homes and giving them a completely new look. Typically, these apartments or houses are small and centrally located,the latter being a prerequisite especially for singles. Young couples, though, are more ready to venture into neighbourhoods like the East Coast, or the more residential suburbs of Bukit Timah- the latter of course, being more characterised by more privacy, space and greenery with the downside of not being able to walk down the street for your morning cup of coffee.

Magazines like Home and Decor, Space, Form, the design and architectural pages of Straits Times- are replete with images of homes for young singles and couples.

It's an interesting new market- more singles are opting to live on their own, driving up the demand for well-located, small, affordable homes. Of late, the demand has obviously been greater than the supply- affordable walkups enviably located in a quiet, green neighbourhood on Orchard Rd typically being snapped up before they are even advertised, driving singles looking to buy further up into areas like Novena, the East Coast or even Pasir Panjang(I've always been partial to the charms of Pasir Panjang myself- vaguely remember a relative living very close to Haw Par Villa so trips to the grotesque theme park became a weekly affair). Another hip alternative seems to be the conservation flats around Chinatown- atmospheric neighbourhoods with an eclectic tenant mix of singlet-clad, mahjong playing ah peks and your newly returned Singaporean repatriate. The leafy surroundings, proximity to good food and art deco structures add to the appeal of these places- despite the 99 year leaseholds.

In a country where private real estate prices are precariously out of reach for most young couples(real estate and car mortgages being disproportionate to what people earn as some point out, thanks to a heavily-subsidized public housing system and scarce land on both counts), the genre of apartments for singles and couples tend to be a very niche market and heavily design-conscious.