THERE are two types of home owners. The first are those who buy a home and then never think about it again. The second are those who buy a home and think about their property every single waking minute of their day.
Singaporeans are more familiar with the second lot.
You know the ritual. You start to acquire something akin to a cocaine-induced hypersensitivity to your surroundings the minute you sign on the dotted line.
The state of the stock market becomes important. That affects how much someone is willing to pay for your home.
You don’t look too kindly upon that smoker. His cigarette ash might devalue your neighbourhood.
And God forbid people let their toddlers out to play lest they smear their snot in the lobby and send cash-rich househunters scurrying away.
You’re not quite sure how you became like this. Wasn’t it not too long ago that you were footloose and fancy-free, laughing at the people queueing outside condominium showrooms? (Then again, maybe your mother might have put you in the queue in your stroller.)
Maybe it’s because, over the years, you just got used to the idea that property values will always rise. The Government assured that by upgrading public housing estates islandwide, much to the chagrin of people who did not want really amphitheatres in their precincts.
Maybe you just got greedy because all your friends and colleagues were talking about it too.
Or maybe you are just scared of losing your job in this take-no-prisoners New Age economy and think that property is the only insurance you can buy.
Whatever the reasons, deep down, you know one thing: You are really tired of thinking of nothing but four walls. Your eyes glaze over when confronted with pamphlets from housing agents promising the best price for your home.
You want out.
What you really need, my friend, is a good dose of selective amnesia. You need to forget the wads of cash that your home represents.
And remember the good old days when homes were just homes.
To read this week’s Saturday Special Report on what the anti-speculation measures mean for the Singapore Dream, please click here