HIS two-storey home is well-renovated, with a lush garden and ample parking space.

The 72-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr He, had bought his double-storey terrace house in Jalan Chempaka Kuning, a little cul-de-sac in Bedok, six years ago for $600,000.

The retiree said he rejected a $600,000 offer for his home - about 2,200 sq ft big - a few months ago.

Property agents we spoke to valued homes like his at under $500,000 today.

This is even cheaper than some five-room HDB flats in prime areas.

The catch?

Only 26 years remain on the lease of the land his home is sitting on.

However, this does not bother Mr He.

He told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'It's hard to find such nice and quiet places in Singapore now.

'At $600,000, I'll be hard pressed to find even a five-room flat.'

Having paid the full amount for his home, Mr He is not tied down by a home loan.

Three generations of his family live under one roof.

Mr He said that the proximity to many amenities and the ample space for gardening were also big draws for him.

Conveniences

The terrace houses in the Jalan Chempaka Kuning cluster are a 15-minute walk away from the Tanah Merah MRT station. Conveniences like a supermarket, a few 24-hour coffee shops and a petrol station are a brisk five-minute walk away.

Among the homes in the area, about 140 terrace and semi-detached houses are leasehold properties.

They sit on a large plot of freehold land which belonged to Mr Koh Sek Lim, a property owner in the east who has since died, The New Paper reported in Feb 2006.

Mr Koh sold a 70-year lease for the land in the 1960s to several developers who built and marketed the houses there.

It's unclear what will happen to this estate when the lease runs out.

But the residents we spoke to said that the short lease does not bother them.

The main draw of these properties are its low prices and the space available for gardening. For $600,000, you can perhaps get a five-room HDB flat in nearby Marine Parade.

Prices of five-room flats in Marine Parade averaged about $625,000, according to HDB statistics in the last quarter.

Prices of landed properties also jumped by 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 7.7 percent for the whole of 2009, according to recent URAdata.

Mr Eric Cheng, CEO of ECG Property, said that even though properties in the Jalan Chempaka Kuning cluster may be cheap, buyers would have to pay in cash as banks usually will not approve loans for properties with fewer than 30 years left on the lease.

Banks generally take their cue from the CPF Board's 30-year cut-off against use of members' savings to pay for mortgage.

This is not really a problem for some of the residents here, who are mainly cash-rich retirees.

Mrs Y M Ye, 75, a retiree, said: 'Most of the residents in the area are retired and enjoy living in the area.

'It is convenient - I can walk to the market at Simpang Bedok and I have space for gardening.'

Staying put

Mrs Ye, who has lived in her two-storey, three-bedroom terrace house with her family for more than 20years, has no intention of selling her home.

Most of the residents we spoke to shared her views.

Mr Cheng added: 'For retirees who do not wish to be tied down by a loan, properties in the area are very attractive. It is a very good place to live in, based on the price.'

Jalan Chempaka Kuning is not just a sleepy, retirement enclave though.

There were a number of young residents out-and-about making use of the nearby park and playgrounds in the area.

Student Richard Quek, 18, lives with his parents in the area.

He said: 'I've lived here for seven years, I love the number of eating places nearby. It is very convenient.'

- Danson Cheong, newsroom intern

'It's hard to find such nice and quiet places in Singapore now. At $600,000, I'll be hard pressed to find even a five-room flat.'
- Mr He who bought his terrace house in Jalan Chempaka Kuning for $600,000 six years ago

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