I bought my first property at the age of 25. This was in the early 1990s, when the property market was stabilising after the recession of the mid-1980s, and just before prices began to rise sharply in the later part of the decade.

Buoyed by the confidence of youth and three years of steady pay cheques, I made an offer for a freehold walk-up apartment in District 11. It was old with no facilities, but was within walking distance of an MRT station and a few bus stops from my workplace.