Buying and renovating a new home is, for many people, challenging at best and torturous at worst.

Beyond the financial burdens, both are projects that often take a psychological and emotional toll due to the many different tasks they entail — from deciding on which tiles to get, to preparing the pile of documents needed to take ownership of your next abode.

Given these circumstances, it seems even more fraught to buy a residence in your 60s or even 70s, when you should ideally be enjoying your retirement. 

But for retiree Chris Leong, 68, it was a matter of practicality. She and her 78-year-old husband moved into their 1,044 sq ft four-room HDB resale flat in Clementi in 2025, downsizing from a three-storey, three-bedroom terrace house in Pasir Panjang where they had lived for more than 10 years.

“We didn’t want to wait until one of us became much less mobile and then be forced to make a decision. We preferred to plan ahead while we still had the choice,” she explains.

Of course, finances were also a consideration. “Maintaining a large landed property for two people wasn’t necessary. By moving to a smaller home, we could have something much easier to manage while freeing up money for our retirement.”

Given that her daughter, 47, lives overseas with her family, “it was important to me that we chose a home where my husband and I could continue living independently and comfortably”, says Leong. 

She spent almost a year searching because she was “quite particular” about what she wanted.

For one, their new place had to be conveniently located near public transportation and everyday amenities such as markets, supermarkets and hawker centres.