Summary
As long as the property value is appreciating, you do not lose money when you pay instalments for the property.
Purchasing property can be seen as forced savings; you will receive a higher return eventually.
Renting out HDB may earn you passive income, but it might be an overall loss when factoring in property and income tax, as well as the depreciation of HDB value.
Article
When you buy insurance, you will be advised to do retirement planning and lock in an amount of savings. An alternative would be to buy a property.
When you purchase a property, you will have to pay a monthly instalment to the bank. Some have the mindset that instalments are bad because of interest incurred. But instalment does not necessarily equate to losing money. In fact, you will earn money if the instalment is paid for a property that is appreciating. For every instalment you pay, you receive a larger return in the future; this is equivalent to forced savings.
Those who rent out HDB may feel that they are earning passive income. However, after accounting for property and income tax, as well as the year-on-year depreciation of HDB, you may not be earning money. Most HDB flats aren’t appreciating.
You can keep track of the yearly principal and interest paid by requesting a bank statement. You can easily calculate how much you earn on your property from these figures. When the property continually appreciates, you not only get to stay in your property for free but also receive returns in the future.