The civil servant, who reportedly was earning about $2,500 a month, paid $405,000 for a 4-room Type S flat in Bishan, inclusive of $50,000 COV. In the article, he sounded somewhat unhappy at having bought at the top of the market just before the new property curbs were announced.
Personally, I found it hard to have any sympathy for his situation. Here's why:
1. Assuming that his fiancée is also earning at the same level as he is, a combined income of around $5,000 is, according to what I feel is financially prudent, too low to afford a flat of over $400K.
2. He overpriced his time very badly. At around the time of his purchase, a similar 4-room flat in Yishun would have cost $100K less than the Bishan one. The different between Bishan and Yishun is 4 MRT stations in terms of travelling. That's an additional 25 mins 1-way of travelling. Is his free time worth that much money? Being a civil servant isn't all that stressful in any case (I should know - I was one before).
3. Wiping out one's savings on property is a bad idea. Choosing a less prestigious location to buy property could have saved him quite a bit of money.
Of course, he has every right to do as he pleases with his money. I just felt that complaining about the negative impact of a government policy change in the press is a bad reflection of one's judgement.
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