Most S’poreans want to live close to family: MND survey

SINGAPORE — Even though only slightly more than half of married couples currently live with or close by to their parents, a large majority of Singaporeans still value living close by to family, a survey commissioned by the Ministry of National Development (MND) has found.

The door-to-door survey, conducted from May to June, involved more than 2,000 Singaporeans and aimed to gauge Singaporeans’ current and preferred housing arrangements.

According to the survey, 55 per cent of unmarried children say they plan to live together with their parents after marriage.

Of the remaning 45 per cent who intend to move out after marriage, the majority still want to live close to their parents, with 65 per cent saying they intend to live in the same town or nearer.

This means 84 per cent of unmarried children prefer to live with, or within the same town as their parents after marriage.

The most important reasons cited for their preference include being close by and able to look after their parents.

However, the current living arrangements of married couples show that only 35 per cent still live with their parents.

Among those who have moved out, only 28 per cent live in the same town as their parents or nearer, while almost half live in a different region.

This means that only 53 per cent of married couples currently live with, or within the same town as their parents.

But despite the distance, 72 per cent of married couples still visit their parents at least once a week, although this is lower than the 96 per cent of unmarried couples who said they would do so after marriage.

The survey also showed that 47 per cent of elderly parents currently live with their married children, while 21 per cent live in the same town or nearer.

The survey findings from a more representative sample were meant to augment feedback and insights gathered during small focus group discussion sessions at MND’s Housing Conversation series.

Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan said these results were “heartwarming” as the survey confirmed that family ties and interaction are important to Singaporeans.

“The door-to-door survey results show that the state of family bonding in Singapore is healthy and strong. They affirm that Singaporean families value mutual care and support and want to live near to one another,” he said.