Friday 18 October 2019

2019 - a year of changes

A lot has happened in the past few months, I sold my HDB, pattaya property was sold too and getting into the private market...

To Upgrade from HDB or Not

To upgrade or not, that seems to be a question on everyone's mind. What are the guidelines that help to shape the decision making process?

I spoke to a few "near retired" people, "the ones with the most money amongst them are those that stayed in HDB and not buying any properties..."

That makes a lot of sense from the perspective of cashflow.

1.  CPF gives you 2.5% compounded interest.
2.  Property has VERY high transaction and maintenance cost.
3.  The power of leverage works for flippers and a rapidly rising market.
4.  Beyond a certain period of holding, there would be no advantage and the buyer would be worse off.

Control :

5.  HDB vs Private. With the clarification from the Govt that most hdb would not enjoy SERS,  HDB's values would not be able to rise as in the past anymore. It is no longer an investment.

I let go of my HDB yielding 6% in Oct 2019. HDB is approaching 38 years old. There would be little resale value left. I think even when the cash is put into CPF, compounding at 2.5% per annum, over 10 years, would beat the returns of a depreciating HDB.