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6-MIN READ | Published Jul 2019
Singaporeans spend more time on property searches than bedtime stories with their children: poll
Rachel Mui
SINGAPOREANS on average spend three times longer on property searches than on reading bedtime stories to their children or speaking to their parents, data from a new HSBC report showed.
According to HSBC’s 2019 Beyond the Bricks survey, Singaporeans spend an average of 3.29 hours each week on property-related window shopping, reading property magazines, and trawling through online listings, even when they are not in the market for a new home.
By contrast, respondents said they spend just 1.03 hour reading bedtime stories to their children, and 0.94 hour speaking to their parents per week.
The survey polled more than 11,000 people across 10 countries and territories, including 1,000 respondents from Singapore, on their attitudes towards home ownership and financing a home.
Their decision to buy is often impulsive; 36 per cent decide on a property based purely on first impressions — this is slightly lower than the global average of 39 per cent. Also, 75 per cent of Singaporeans would have viewed five houses or fewer in person before buying their first home.
Among “extreme Singaporean property addicts”, defined by HSBC as those who spend over seven hours a week reading about or researching property, 51 per cent admit to buying a property on first sight, while 63 per cent of them did not have any criteria when shopping for a property.
Some 27 per cent of these extreme house hunters also often went over budget, compared to 10 per cent of average Singaporeans.
Mr Ranojoy Dutta, the head of retail products at HSBC Singapore said: “Buying a property is often the biggest and most significant purchase we make, but some homebuyers may be taking their passion for the perfect home too far."
Research also revealed that neighbours are extremely important to Singapore homebuyers, with “creepy neighbours” being the biggest deal breaker when it comes to purchasing a property.
Singaporeans are similar to their Malaysian counterparts when it comes to superstitions, with 33 per cent considering “bad feng shui” and 16 per cent citing unlucky door number or a street name as deal breakers.
The full version of this article first appeared in The Business Times on May 3, 2019.
调查显示：新加坡人花在搜寻房地产的时间，比给孩子读睡前故事的时间还要长
国人花在搜寻房地产信息的时间，比花在读故事书给孩子听或与父母聊天的时间多三倍。
汇丰银行（HSBC）对10个国家和地区的1万1000人（包括在新加坡的1000人）所做的调查显示，国人即使无意买房，还是会平均每个星期花3.29个小时看房子、看房地产刊物或浏览网上的房地产信息。
受访国人表示，他们每个星期只花1.03小时在孩子入睡前给他们讲故事，以及花0.94小时跟父母聊天。
调查显示，国人往往是在冲动之下作出买房决定。36％国人单凭对房子的第一印象就决定购买，只比全球的平均39％稍低。75％国人顶多只看五个单位就作出买下第一间房子的决定。10％国人会买下金额超出预算的房子。
译自2019年5月3日刊登于商业时报的 Singaporeans spend more time on property searches than bedtime stories with their children: poll.
