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Depends on how you read this news.... Singapore has the shortest repayment period for luxury homes.....or in another word....cheapest housing in Asian countries. More upside potential? Go forth and keep buying...they had it worst in HK and JKT and BKK. REJOICE for Affordability we are still ok. By iProperty | Property Blog

There have been lot of discussions in various threads on the car affordability in this high COE season. Based on my assumptions / calculations, Top 24 percentile household income (11,600$ monthly after CPF) may afford 200k car Top 30 percentile household income (10,300$ monthly after CPF) may afford 100k car (thanks to Salary.sg for arriving the percentile) My basis are quite generic and may vary from person to person. As a good rule, I have assumed 20% of the income as savings. Household Expenditure basis: House 1500, Children 2000, Utility 400, Food 1200, Transport 1700 or 3000, Misc 500, Income Tax 1000 Saving (20%)2000, Total 10300 or 11600 (depends on 100k or 200k car) Car Expenditure basis: Expenditure for 100k (200k) car: Car loan 1000 (2000), Road Tax 62 (150), Insurance 150 (250), Petrol 175 (250), Office parking 100 (100), Home parking 95 (95), Parking coupon 30 (30), Servicing 50 (100), Cashcard 50(50), Total 1712 (3025) If you want to be more specific, you can workout with your expenditure / savings pattern.

Excellent points that are obvious but should be repeated over and over again to the those who are daft until they stick. One thing really stands out - Mr Mah apparently does not like the fact that public housing policy is stack in favor of Singaporeans? === A wrong sense of housing affordability: NSP's Goh by Tan Weizhen 01:25 AM Apr 26, 2011 SINGAPORE - Paying nothing as a deposit for a new flat or covering monthly mortgages with Central Provident Fund contributions do not mean public housing is affordable, the National Solidarity Party said yesterday. At current housing prices, buyers will have to service their loans for the next 30 years, which will wipe out the CPF accounts of many buyers, leaving them with little for retirement, NSP secretary-general Goh Meng Seng said in response to recent comments by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan. Mr Mah had said on Sunday that eight in 10 couples who buy new flats use only a quarter or less of their salaries to service their home loans, because they use their CPF. Combined with housing grants, a couple earning $4,000 could get a flat with "zero deposit", he had also said. But Mr Goh said many young people he has met on the ground cannot afford flats, even with a 30-year mortgage: "A 30-year mortgage isn't affordable. It would mean that all the youngsters now, in 30 years' time, wouldn't be able to retire; CPF would be zero. So what gives? Our future generation will suffer. "To say that - not forking out cash for deposit - is a myth. It has created a wrong sense of affordability." His NSP team distributed flyers at the Tampines MRT Station last night. The NSP is contesting Tampines Group Representation Constituency, where Mr Mah is the People's Action Party anchor minister. Mr Goh also defended his proposal that permanent residents should have a longer minimum occupation period for HDB flats: Eight years, compared to five for Singaporeans. Mr Mah had rejected that proposal as housing policy was already "stacked in favour" of Singaporeans. Mr Goh responded by saying there should be a mindset change with regard to PRs: "Whoever we want to attract, we should have the motive to make sure these PRs will become our citizens. We don't want (PRs of) a migrant nature." He believes that raising the criteria to eight years will elicit more commitment from PRs, as a flat will then become a home to them and "the natural path is to become a citizen". As for local issues NSP will campaign on, Mr Goh said Tampines has a number of problems, including an ageing population, lack of car park spaces and poor estate maintenance. Some ageing HDB blocks have leaking roofs and peeling paint, he said. His proposals include a community hospital to serve the elderly in Tampines, Simei and Pasir Ris-Punggol.

Ok...I have no USA living experience. I admit I am only a 'bottom well frog' in Singapore. After reading the many news(in newspaper and magazines) about pricing and affordability of things in USA, especially motorvehicles. I cannot understand why a difference of US$2,000 can be an Affordability issue for car buyers in USA. Just $2k cheaper can suddenly attract New Buyer to the marketplace? Just $2k difference many people cannot afford to buy the more expensive Prius? Anyone who has US or UK or overseas living experience care to help me understand the financial considerations when it comes to buying cars in these countries? http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...311-127577.html 'Prius-killer' DETROIT, March 10 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co on Tuesday set the base price for its Insight hybrid at 10 percent below the market-leading Prius hybrid made by larger rival Toyota Motor Corp. Honda said the 2010 Insight would start at $19,800 (S$30,626), making it the first hybrid to sell in the U.S. market below $20,000. The 2009 model Prius starts at $22,000. Honda has positioned the five-door Insight as an economical alternative to the Prius, which has come to dominate the hybrid market with its distinctive styling and fuel economy. 'I think what they are looking to do is to bring a new buyer to the marketplace for hybrids, people who are interested but maybe couldn't afford the Prius,' said Jack Nerad, analyst at Kelley Blue Book, a leading vehicle pricing guide. Honda launched the first hybrid in the U.S. market with its three-door hatchback Insight a decade ago but its early launch was eclipsed by the commercial success of the larger Prius. The all-new Insight revives the name of the earlier hybrid and represents Honda's attempt to engineer a 'Prius-killer,' a more affordable hybrid that chips away at the price premium such vehicles require to offset the cost of additional batteries and an electric-drive system, analysts have said. 'I think it's clear that they want to make this seem like a more attainable vehicle,' said Karl Brauer, editor of auto tracking Web site Edmunds.com. 'I think they're doing what it takes to make hybrids seem more real world and less niche.' Toyota sold almost 159,000 Prius hybrids in the United States in 2008. Sales were constrained at one point during the summer spike in gas prices by difficulty importing enough of the cars from Japan. Toyota has not announced pricing for its all-new 2010 model Prius that is expected to hit U.S. showrooms later this year. The Prius leads the Insight in fuel economy with an estimate of 46 miles-per-gallon in city-and-highway combined driving, compared with 41 miles per gallon for the Honda model. The Insight debuted in February in Japan, outselling the Prius there in its first month of availability. The new Honda hybrid is set to go on sale in the United States this month.