This Is How Much The Stars Are Paying For Their Homes In Singapore

HOME IS: A five-room HDB flat in Bishan
MORTGAGE: Less than $2,000 per month

HOUSE IT GOING? “About five years ago, I rented. When I just graduated from university, the very first home I rented was a three-bedroom apartment. I paid about $1,500 rent per month, which is still quite affordable for an apartment. After two years, the landlord wanted to increase the rent to $2,500 which I thought was a bit pricey. So I moved to a rented five-room HDB executive flat where I paid $2,000. After two years, the owner wanted to sell the flat, so I moved to a three-room HDB flat and I paid about $1,700 in rent each month.”
CURRENT HOME: “When I knew I could buy a HDB resale flat under the new citizen scheme, I talked to my mum. We bought a [1,300 sq ft] five-room HDB flat at its peak for $690,000. My mum only paid the downpayment, which was about $200,000. I’m paying the rest on my own — a mortgage of less than $2,000 every month now.”
HOW HE JUGGLES MORTGAGE WITH OTHER EXPENSES: “It’s not so stressful, ’cos if you’re staying in a condo of the same size, you have to fork out about $5,000 to $6,000 for mortgage a month. That would be quite tough. So for less than $2,000, it’s still okay.”

HOME IS: A rented 1,700 sq ft condomiunium
RENT: $3,000 to $4,000 per month

HOUSE IT GOING? “Recently, [my British software engineer husband and I] bought a house, so we’re moving out [of our condo] soon, after almost three years. The logic was to rent while we waited for [property prices] to go down, and it worked out pretty well — what we spent on rent was lower than what we would have paid on the excess of the downpayment for a house or condo. [Three years ago, we sold our place] ’cos it was the right time and we wanted to have a bit more liquid assets. It was purely about getting a good sale price on our condo — which we did — so we could search for a better place with that cash.”
FUTURE HOME: “I can’t [reveal how much we paid for our new house]. But we got a very good price for a corner unit semi-detached house in Upper Bukit Timah. In fact, we bought it for way below the market rate. But it’s an old house. It’s not something that we bought for investment. We bought it to just live and die in it. (Laughs)”
HOW SHE JUGGLES RENT WITH OTHER EXPENSES: “Firstly, we bought a house which was within our means — it’s cheaper than the selling price of our previous house. We also got rid of our car, and we leased one instead. We found a very good deal. When we [return] the car [and get a brand new car], we don’t have to pay 40 per cent downpayment. We only put a deposit down which is three months of our car rental, which we will get back eventually. It’s a five-year lease, and we’re paying the same amount each month that we would had we bought the car. After five years, we don’t have to worry about how to sell the car. We just give it back and look for some other lease. Plus, it’s a diesel car. So that really saves us a lot of money. We also try not to splurge on expensive dinners — we try to cook as much as we can.”

HOME IS: A rented two-room HDB flat in Boon Keng
RENT: $1,000 per month

HOUSE IT GOING? “I’ve been living here for more than a year now. When I first came to Singapore, my manager found a landed property for me to live in. I ended up living there for more than six years, and rent was also about $1,000.”
FUTURE HOME PLANS: “I have my own house in [my hometown] Shanghai. But I have plans [to buy a house in Singapore]. I’m still not a Singapore PR. [As a foreigner,] I can only buy a condo, not a HDB flat. I’ve looked at many condos, but there are still a lot of obstacles [if I want to buy a house here]. Of course, buying a house in Singapore is really expensive, especially for a foreigner. But the cost of a house in Shanghai is almost the same as in Singapore.”
HOW HE JUGGLES RENT WITH OTHER EXPENSES: “I’m really not a thrifty person. So starting this year, I told myself that I have to manage my finances, if not I will end up broke. I spend a lot on clothes and shoes. So now, if I spend $1,000 on a pair of jeans and $600 on a T-shirt, that’s all I’m going to spend [on clothing] for that month. I have to put the rest of my money away to pay for [necessities].”

HOME IS: A condomiunium
MORTGAGE: None

HOUSE IT GOING? “I was quite blessed when I used to rent homes for many years in Singapore. Most of the time, my rent was cheaper than the market rate. The last time I rented in Singapore was from 2012 to 2015, before I went to China. At that time, to rent a small room in a HDB flat in a good location would cost $700 to $800. I’m not sure about the rates now. But back then, I rented a room in a three-storey landed property for only $700 per month. My landlords were living on the first floor. And my room, which came with its own toilet, was on the third level, and I had the whole level to myself.”
CURRENT HOME: “Right now, I’m living in my husband’s place, which is a condo in Singapore. [Ed: Apple, who is Malaysian, tied the knot with a Singaporean businessman last year.]
COST COMPARISON: “Back when I was working in China, I used to rent there as well. I think the rental rates in China are still relatively cheap, as compared to in Singapore. But the rental rates there are steadily increasing.”
 

HOME IS: A condomiunium
MORTGAGE: “A four-digit sum” per month

HOUSE IT GOING? “My mum and I bought a condo in Singapore. So now, I’m paying a four-digit sum every month for my home loan. I’ve been living here with my mum for about five years. But she travels back and forth to Shanghai to visit my grandma.”
FUTURE HOME PLANS: “I hope to buy a bigger place for my mum in future. I’m going to work extremely hard for my family. And it’s a good investment to buy a house in Singapore.”
HOW HE JUGGLES MORTGAGE WITH OTHER EXPENSES: “Things in Singapore are expensive, so I don’t go out often. When I stay home, I don’t spend money. I also differentiate my wants from my needs. I will try to save money by not buying the things that I want, and use it to pay for [necessities] such as electrical bills, house maintenance fees, toiletries and food.”