Singapore guys and 1st time home buyers

She has stayed in both Asia and Europe.  She found Asian guys more compatible with her set of values. 

Unfortunately, there is a serious sex ratio imbalance in Hong Kong.  For every 1,000 females, there are only 955 males.  In 30 years’ time, the number of males will drop to 804.  By then, about one in every three females will be single.

(Frankly, unlike property prices, love has nothing to do with supply and demand.  Some people never need to lower their requirement and can always find love regardless of supply — just like property prices in New York city’s prime districts never drop and can always stay firm regardless of financial crisis.  Afterall, you just need to find one out of the millions available there.   On the contrary, you can face abundant or excessive supply but cannot pick any.)

Anyway, she asked me whether I know any eligible guy in Singapore.  If she can find ‘the one’, she doesn’t mind giving up her job and moving to Singapore for good.

She is probably not aware that, in Singapore, couples put property arrangement (i.e. buying a flat together) before marriage arrangement.  There is a bizarre and ‘unromantic’ way of proposing,

 “Let’s go and apply for a flat.”

The Singapore dream is to start with a government HDB flat, wait for the price to go up, and upgrade to a condominium. 

From August 30, this Singapore way of marriage proposal becomes,

“Forget about private properties, buy an HDB flat together and stay there with me for at least five years.”

For according to the new public housing policy, the minimum occupation period of HDB flats has been increased to five years.  Ownership of private properties is disallowed during this period.  Any existing private flat must be disposed within six months.

I can imagine my girlfriend’s queries are:

1. Should we add a sub-clause in the marriage vow that we should stay married for at least five years to fulfill the minimum occupation period (in case both sides have problems buying their own flat if the marriage fails)? 
2. So marrying a Singapore guy means cannot build my property portfolio in the next five years? 
3. If my cozy flat in Hong Kong is forced to sell, when things don’t work out, where can I fall back to?

I can’t help recalling one particular scene in Sex & the City part 1 — when Carrie wanted to move in with Big,  Miranda thought she was taking a risk by giving up her own apartment.  Then the girls overheard the story of an actress in the powder room at Christie’s auction,

“She came home one night and he had locked her out.  She didn’t even have anywhere to live.  After ten years.  Such a shame.  She was a smart girl till she fell in love.”

Sorry girl, I can’t think of any eligible guy yet, not after the release of the new government measures to stabilize the property market.

But wait, perhaps we can find guys who can afford the sky high prices of private properties (or already own one) … and are still available. 

So, are we becoming more snobbish?  Is it us or this new housing policy?

Another girlfriend, an Asian who studied in Europe from young, has difficulties understanding why Singaporeans are so status conscious.  She once said,

“If I really love a guy, even if we live in the poorest slum, I will still be very happy.”

I completely agree with her and fully support her theory of marrying for love. 

I just don’t think that I can break this kind of news to my mum who is over sixty and has a weak heart.