Look into ur personal circumstances too in deciding to rent / buy.

If u can afford to buy, but have it planted in a worthwhile investment, then renting (for the duration of the investment) is ok.

Renting also increases your work mobility, enabling relocation for better paying jobs which also reduces your transport cost.

But if u buy a condo near activity centres, renting out your extra rooms might generate $ to set off your instalments etc - the best of both worlds ie. ur own place + income.

Listing the figures of both options out in a worksheet will make decisionmaking easier.

Lookin at the title ".. for 1st time hse buyer" i think hse price drop or not, its not as serious an issue compared to investors.

After all, if ur buying for own use, u might need the house already, unless if u can hold on to see how the market reacts, which might disappoint u, cos everyone is screaming 'cost increase 30% !'.

A developer put its sales on hold, yup, dun wan to sell, cos they are recalculating their sales price.

I know that house prices for future phases are coming up, not just cos of material prices, but it has been the practice always - developers never sell new properties priced below their previous phases.

Why ? Cos it will scare off future buyers who think the project is in trouble & depreciating.