Vallous,
it is important If u wanna look at property, to At Least have some side interest in Economics. no need the degree type, but just basic understanding of cost of living, appreciation and the depreciation of money. cos that is where your 1million might be hiding...
u cannot base on Your feel of today's value of money to decide tomorrow's value. u have to bring in historicals and look at where the future is likely to head.
Money is Currency... and as the name currency suggests - it is current, and in many ways like the current of the seas... it changes. Do u see money Appreciating or Depreciating? would we be able to still pay $2.50 for a plate of chicken rice or would it require more pieces of notes?
it wasn't too long ago when HDBs were really affordable. we got our clementi 4room at 23k... why do we say 'cheap'? other than being affordable, it's also becos we are looking at it from today's perspective. 23k is wat we can make in a year... back then salary was in the hundreds... what changed? Dude it's not becos u have a degree... u can have a degree back then and still have difficulty touching just 1k.
which idiot will pay 1mil for duxton? an idiot who has to pay $8 for a plate of chicken rice tat used to be $2, $120 for a shirt tat used to be $40, 5k for an LV tat used to cost 2k, 15k for a rolex tat used to cost 7k.
your money's value shrinks in the bank. whether u believe of not, like it or not - it depreciates. that's how it has been... our parents who put their life-savings of 50k in the bank in 1980 when it can last them 5yrs will see it last them just 2yrs Today.
5yrs back i bought my 4rm HDB at 220k, today it's 450k. u decide if it's a correction in local property prices, or just a bull run. COVs used to be High, but valuation of flats have risen to catch up and close the gap of COV. are houses really that expensive in land-scarce spore? where do u think the resale prices for duxton will be if u bought it from hdb at 600k? this is not woodlands or sembawang, we're talking Location, my number 1 rule.
u want more examples of Location? bras basah 4rm with Only 1 toilet started at 20-30k, 2yrs back it's 350k, today it's asking half mil... it's 26yrs old? it rents for 2.5-3k per month. check the prices of the condos at duxton area... which are ALSO 99yrs... wat's the prices? what would make a HDB at duxton as attractive compared with the condo? 750k is realistic today, when u need more money in future to buy the same product Today - why can't 1-mil be realistic tomorrow?
Look at property, but also look at money. Look at building costs... u can buy land and build a 2storey house for 300k not so long ago, today it's over 1mil. so is 1mil really alot of money? alot of pple are hoping for property prices to come down, and Yes it will... it will soften. but if u think that the prices will go back to 2003 prices, then think again... new HDB flats are sold at Higher prices today, what makes u think they will be sold at today's prices in the next cycle?
abt breaking even your loan, also dun forget - if u take a loan of 30yrs and pay a miserable 3% interest... the bank is the one suffering, Not u. Interest is what we pay to the bank for lending us money we dun have... if they dun lend u, u're fcuked, aren't u? and assuming they dun lend u, u go calculate how long before u save enough to buy a flat in full. and by the time u have your full cash, are u sure the value will remain the same or come down? it's like the 50k our parents kept in 1980, dun u think?
find me a land parcel in spore that has gone down in value.
lastly, i said she's "likely to see Pinnacle touch 1mil prices in the next High, than for Kallang". it's More of a Comparison, and less of valuation in this statement.
hope this explains where i'm coming from. i understand u feel a certain way, but it's not enough to 'feel' on emotions. there will always be historicals and backing for us to make more informed choices rather than just feelings.