Singapore is a highly developed market economy; however, its housing construction and allocation are not entirely regulated by the market. Instead, it adopts a system that combines government allocation with market sales, where housing for low- and middle-income individuals is constructed and provided by the government at a cost, while housing for high-income individuals is provided by the market. Singapore's housing system is a model of the integration of planning and market forces.
The residential units provided for low- and middle-income individuals are uniformly managed by a semi-official agency—the Housing and Development Board, which is responsible for investment and construction; housing for high-income individuals is constructed by private investors.
The government allocates housing based on residents' income levels. Low-income individuals can enjoy low-rent housing, middle-income individuals can access affordable housing, and middle to high-income individuals can benefit from income apartments (which are high-end apartments provided by the government at market prices). Except for a few special cases that receive priority in allocation, all households that meet the government's housing allocation criteria must queue for government-provided housing.
Since Singapore achieved self-governance in 1959, unemployment and housing issues were the two most significant social conflicts. At that time, only 9% of residents in urban areas could live in standard public housing, while 84% of families had to reside in shops and slums. To address this, the government established the Housing and Development Board in February 1960, organized a study of affordable apartments in Hong Kong, and formulated the "Five-Year Housing Plan," which provided a large number of government-built apartments to residents in the form of low-rent housing. In 1968, the government introduced the "Home Ownership Scheme," transitioning from renting low-rent housing to selling affordable housing.
Over the past 40 years, Singapore has built more than 900,000 housing units. Currently, among Singapore's population of over 3.2 million, approximately 86% live in public housing, with about 90% of them owning their housing rights. There are currently about 180,000 private residential units, including detached villas, semi-detached villas, townhouses, and apartments. In comparison, it is evident that the public housing constructed by the Singapore government occupies a significant share of the housing market.
Public housing is distributed across different towns, with Singapore currently having 23 towns. A typical town consists of 5 to 7 neighborhoods, each neighborhood comprises at least 6 precincts, and each precinct consists of 4 to 8 public housing blocks. A typical public housing block can accommodate around 120 households.
The Housing and Development Board conducts unified planning, design, and construction of public housing. Construction is carried out through a bidding system by specialized contractors; property management is handled by the town councils of each town. Public housing operates on a sale system, where each eligible applicant (household) can apply to the Housing and Development Board for public housing twice, but can purchase from the secondary market without restriction. Public housing purchased directly from the government is priced at approximately 50% to 70% of the market price, and buyers must reside for a certain period (currently two and a half years) before they can sell in the secondary market. The lease for new public housing is 99 years.
Singapore attributes its achievements in public housing to four main factors: strong government support, comprehensive new town development, encouragement of home ownership, and good property management.
Singapore financially supports public housing through annual deficit grants and loans. Annual deficit grants are used to compensate for the operational financial deficits of the Housing and Development Board.
There are mainly two types of loans: one is for housing construction, which covers the Housing and Development Board's development and operational expenses, and is repaid through the sale of public housing. The other is housing mortgage loans, where the Housing and Development Board obtains this loan from the government and then lends it to public housing buyers as a home loan.
Public housing buyers repay in installments through monthly withdrawals from their Central Provident Fund, and the Housing and Development Board collects these payments and repays the government. The interest rate on the Housing and Development Board's home loans is 0.1% higher than the interest on Central Provident Fund deposits but lower than commercial bank mortgage rates. The Housing and Development Board effectively plays a dual role as both a developer and a mortgage bank.
Singapore's housing has transitioned from one-bedroom and two-bedroom units to three-bedroom, four-bedroom, and even five-bedroom units; in terms of architecture, it has transitioned from low-rise to high-rise buildings. Currently, the number of housing units and total area provided by the government is gradually decreasing, but the proportion of villa-type income apartments that meet the needs of middle and high-income residents is continuously increasing, and the quality of housing living conditions is gradually improving.
