YOU can buy a five-room flat that is on a high floor, with a view, near an MRT station, shops and other faciliities, and pay $610,000.

That's if you want to live in Clementi.

For about $200,000 less, you could have a high floor flat with a good view at Bedok near lots of amenities.

And for as little as $235,000 you could have all that too, including a great view across to Johor Baru if you live at Woodlands.

HDB flat buyers keen for a home with a view can pay widely varying sums for their new home.

Intense interest in what your money will buy in terms of a high floor HDB flat grew recently when a five-room flat at Kim Tian Road near Tiong Bahru MRT station sold for a record $720,000.

But financial experts say finding the right home all depends where you want to live and what you can sensibly afford to fork out in loan repayments.

They warn that home buyers should be careful not to borrow too much just to buy a home in the latest fashionable hot spot which could change over time in any case.