In Your Opinion Podcast
What does love have to do with waiting for a BTO flat?
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(From left) Professor Sumit Agarwal and counsellor Neo Eng Huat discuss how shorter BTO waiting times could ease stress on marriages, and share advice on how couples can strengthen relationships through life’s challenges.
ST PHOTO: HADYU RAHIM
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Synopsis: Every second Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore’s social issues of the day with guests.
With HDB planning to introduce more Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, buyers can expect to collect keys in under three years, reducing the amount of stress on the couple relationship, say an economist and a counsellor.
How can young couples decide if they have found the right life partners to take on the wait for a BTO flat?
In this episode, ST assistant podcast editor Lynda Hong hosts two guests.
Thr first is National University of Singapore’s Professor of Real Estate and Economics Sumit Agarwal. He penned a study on the correlation between early marriages, a higher propensity for divorce and waiting times for a BTO, that was featured in the third book in a series - Kiasunomics 3: Economic Insights For Everyday Life. The book overall, analyses the influence and consequences of economic decisions in Singapore.
The second is Mr Neo Eng Chuan, principal psychologist and founder of CaperSpring. He has 20 years of experience in helping couples.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:10 Post-Covid: BTO one of the few affordable options for young couples
4:00 The effect of BTO-waiting on marriage
14:11 Is it good to have ‘effective fighting’ between couples?
18:07 When is it time to cut short your losses?
24:15 Money matters in a marriage
Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH
Host: Lynda Hong ( lyndahong@sph.com.sg
Produced and edited by: Nathasha Liew & Hadyu Rahim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong
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