What do you call an area equivalent to 21/2 carpark lots?
An apartment, covering 258 sq ft.
Such units were among apartments of various sizes put up for sale at the Suites@Guillemard pro-ject in Guillemard recently.
The cost of the small unit? $374,000 or $1,450 psf - and all four such units were snapped up.
They might well be Singapore's smallest private apartments, beating out a 312 sq ft unit at Kent Residences near Farrer Park, which made the news in June last year.
Indeed, buyers are seeing more so-called 'mickey mouse' or 'shoebox' flats - which are below 500 sq ft - on the market.
The trend took off late last year.
So far this year, nearly 500 'mickey mouse' units have been sold, up from 299 last year and 275 in 2007.
Recent launches with units under 500 sq ft include The Lenox along Changi Road.
Upcoming launches include the 40-unit City Loft in Race Course Road, where the units are around 323 sq ft to 420 sq ft in size and where penthouses go from 743 sq ft to 904 sq ft.
Driving sales is affordability, especially in an uncertain economic climate.
However, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA's) flash estimate, prices of private residential property rose from 133.3 points in the second quarter to 154.5 in the third quarter - an increase of 15.9 per cent.
Amid rising prices, the cost of a 350 sq ft one-bedder - which can be just $370,000 to $400,000 - seems alluring, even if the price per square foot easily exceeds $1,000.
But do buyers, many of whom are thought to be investors, know what they are getting into?
There is increasing concern in some industry quarters.
'The small units are more like the size of a hotel room and might be deemed by occupiers as non-conducive as a general apartment kind of living,' said Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han.
Which means that some buyers may list them on the rental market.
'If demand is not there for long- term leasing, owners may lease them out on a monthly, weekly or even hourly basis.'
This raises the issue of what sort of tenants would move in.
Mr Han's view is that there is a bigger social responsibility to make sure the projects 'are planned correctly and are sustainable as proper residential dwellings'.
Should the Government step in?
The URA said it does not stipulate a minimum size for private residential units. This is to allow developers flexibility to provide different-sized units to cater to various needs and income groups.
'URA will assess the overall building design, site layout and whether the proposed residential units are able to function effectively as self-contained dwelling units, with basic amenities like living area, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom,' said its spokesman.
There is no stopping developers from going for small but there could be a limit to how far they can go.
The URA has apparently already rejected some applications for small units.
EL Development's managing director Lim Yew Soon's take is that small units will still be popular but they will have to be at least 30 sq m, or 323 sq ft, for them to be more liveable.
Said Frasers Centrepoint's CEO Lim Ee Seng: 'We would not build anything smaller, as 400 sq ft is about the optimum size, capable of accommodating a decent-sized living-dining area, toilet, pantry and a bedroom.'
The smallest unit at its recent project 8@Woodleigh is 398 sq ft.
An industry veteran pointed out: 'Whether such a space standard is healthy is a valid concern. Today, it is hard to imagine living in a 300 sq ft unit but things do evolve over time.
'Planning standards change along with our social milieu. When you look at it in context, small units could become popular in the heart of town centres for single-person households in the future.'
Source: Sunday Times, 18 Oct 2009
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