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Source By: https://anniekoh.tumblr.com/post/64896243254/a-historical-snapshot-of-housing-in-singapore

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I am at heart and always will be a history nerd. (p.s. welcome to the folks who came via my Disappearance of Continuous Place post!) The shiny skyscrapers of the Asian tigers are understood as The Global City of the Future ™, non-dystopic version. Come to Taipei-Seoul-Singapore for the sensory overload of spicy street food eaten under the flicker of flatscreens billboards and LED signage.

In my readings on affordable housing, however, Singapore first appears as a colonial slum and then post-colonial developmental state, determined to house its residents in public housing.
[Informal housing in Covent Garden, Singapore, 1950s] Belinda Yuen "SQUATTERS NO MORE: SINGAPORE SOCIAL HOUSING" Global Urban Development Volume 3 Issue 1 November 2007

The combination of low construction and war damage had resulted in a substantial housing shortage in the immediate post-war years. According to the 1947 British colonial government Housing Committee Report, by 1947, Singapore had one of the world's worst slums, 'a disgrace to a civilised community' (p. 16). About 300,000 people were then living in temporary squalid dwellings in squatter areas with no sanitation, water or any of the basic health facilities and another 250,000 in ramshackle shophouses within the city area, in neighborhoods such as Chinatown 'in which gross overcrowding was common' (HDB, 1966, p30). To give just one example, as Mr. Lim Kim San, the first HDB Chairman recalled of his visit to Chinatown in the early 1960s:

I went into a three-story shophouse with one lavatory and two bathrooms. We counted 200 tenants living there. It was so dark and damp. It was an inhuman and degrading existence. Underneath the staircase was a single plank. A man was lying on the plank. He had rented it. That was his home! And he was lying down covered by a blanket; the thick red blanket made in China. I paused to ask him if he was sick: "Why are you covering yourself with a thick blanket?" He replied: "I am covering myself out of respect for you. I am wearing only undershorts. My brother is wearing my pants." They were too poor to afford clothing. In those days, there were shops which pulled clothing and shoes off the dead to sell them. "My God," I thought to myself, "I really must help those people." ( The Straits Times, 9 Aug 1997)

At night, many others would sleep on makeshift canvas beds placed along street pavements (Chen, 1983). Policy interventions on housing provision during the colonial administration, 1819-1959 (Singapore was granted internal self-rule in 1959 and independence in 1965) were, however, limited. Resources were largely directed to entrepot trading and the British military complex. The housing problem was regarded as something of a transitory phenomenon that would disappear as the economy grew. Such an attitude was convenient as it provided the basis for taking little or no action on housing.

In effect, the outcome was housing stress and the cumulative need for improvements was immense: in 1959, the total number of dwellings completed by both public and private agencies was 4003 when 14,000 new units were needed

Of the 14,000 new homes a year, the private sector had the capacity to provide some 2,500 new homes a year. Many of those dwellings would however be at price levels beyond the means of the lower income households. In the absence of alternatives, the burden of the remaining housing requirements including shelter for the poor must fall on the government. The challenge was taken up by the newly elected self- government, which had won the election on a manifesto of providing employment and housing (and has been re-elected to power ever since). Unlike many other Third World governments, which have tended to act on housing as a social problem to be addressed after the achievement of economic progress, Singapore considered the two as of equal and symbiotic importance.

Also on my to read list is Squatters into Citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore - "how the vision of a planned city - an ideal imagined by Anglo-American planners - was achieved in the aftermath of a great fire in an informal settlement called Bukit Ho Swee in 1961."
[Tiong Bahru - the site for Singapore Improvement Trust's public housing programme that aimed to alleviate the shortage of housing in Chinatown]

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a historical snapshot of housing in singapore

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I am at heart and always will be a history nerd. (p.s. welcome to the folks who came via my Disappearance of Continuous Place post!) The shiny skyscrapers of the Asian tigers are understood as The Global City of the Future ™, non-dystopic version.

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Post-War Housing Conditions in Singapore

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Post-War Housing Conditions in Singapore

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After World War II, one of the earliest projects was to start a housing estate in Tiong Bahru. As it was far from adequate to meet the needs of the fast-growing population as the housing situation worsened, the project was not successful.
When Singapore attained self-government, the shortage of houses and its problems, such as overcrowding and squatter colonies, became worse.
The public housing project was therefore passed to the HDB as they decided to set public housing for the low-income groups as top priority.
Before the set up of HDB, the condition of Singapore's housing was no different from a slum and squatter settlement, the environment was cramp and unhygenic in shophouses and squatter areas.
Flats later built by the HDB seemed luxurious to the residents then - the HDB were spacious, providing basic services such as electricity, sanitation and proper sewage systems. By March 1976, more than half of the local population were living in the HDB flats.

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-Increasing use of solar energy
Singapore's government has been pushing for the use of sustainable energy, therefore about 176 HDB blocks depend on the solar panels to light up common areas.

-Centralised chutes for recyclables on every storey
The government will be making it more convenient for residents to recycle with a centralised chute on every floor for recyclables. There will be two refuse hoppers to enable residents to separate their trash into general waste and recyclables. Currently, this is implemented in the BTO (Build-To-Order) flats, and has shown great results. Therefore, the government will soon be implementing this on HDB flats to encourage pro-environmental behaviour.

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Source By: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-private-housing-prices-down-3-in-2016

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Singapore

THE residential market is showing signs of stabilising even as private home prices slipped for the 13th consecutive quarter, going by the government's flash estimates for the fourth quarter.

For the full year, the estimated 3 per cent fall in private home prices and the 0.15 per cent decline in HDB resale prices were smaller than their respective 3.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent declines in 2015. The 0.4 per cent decline in private home prices during the fourth quarter was also milder than the 1.5 per cent fall in the preceding quarter.

Despite the moderating price declines, consultants are not expecting a quick turnaround given a slowing economy, rising interest rates and uncertainty in the jobs market. Some housing brokers also perceive the quarterly price uptick for landed homes in the fourth-quarter flash data as a statistical blip that does not signal the start of a price recovery.

Landed homes bucked the overall downward trend with a 0.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter price increase in the fourth quarter, after posting a steep 2.7 per cent drop in the preceding quarter. For the whole of 2016, prices of landed properties fell by 4.4 per cent, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) flash estimates released on Tuesday.

Surprised by the quarterly uptick in landed home prices, Realstar Premier Group managing director William Wong said: "Quite a number of units were transacted at prices lower than expected in Central and the East. At most, I would say prices have flattened out."

The landed property specialist is expecting more landed transactions this year while prices will ease further by no more than 5 per cent. This is because a price equilibrium is being reached between buyers and sellers, "coupled with the fact that there will unlikely be any more negative property measures being introduced", he said.

SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak reckons that the quarterly rise in the landed price index was a technical rebound caused by the significant 2.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop in the third quarter, having fallen an average 1.2 per cent over each quarter from Q4 2013 to Q2 2016. "Hence, the rise in the price index could be a temporary statistical blip and it is still a bit early to conclude that the landed residential market is recovering," he said.

Non-landed home prices in the prime or Core Central Region (CCR) were flat in the fourth quarter, after falling 1.9 per cent in the third quarter, URA flash estimates show.

Based on SRX Property data collated from property agencies, about 80 per cent of the over 600 transactions in the CCR in the fourth quarter were resale transactions which - under URA's terminology for resale - also include units in delicensed projects sold by developers.

PropNex Realty's branch district director Dominic Lee, who specialises in prime non-landed properties, said that he had expected the price index for the CCR region to perform even better as the high-end projects that he was involved in such as OUE Twin Peaks have seen fairly good sales, with prices surpassing that of the previous quarter.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim believes that luxury property prices have started to find their support level, with an estimated transaction volume of 2,709 units in the CCR - a 45.7 per cent jump from 2015's 1,859 units.

The Q4 flash estimates by URA are compiled based on transaction prices given in contracts submitted for stamp duty payment, and data on units sold by developers (both licensed and de-licensed) up till Dec 15.

The main drag in the fourth quarter came from the city-fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR), where non-landed homes slipped by a steeper 2 per cent after falling one per cent in the third quarter. Prices in the suburban or Outside Central Region (OCR) dipped a moderate 0.3 per cent after dropping one per cent in the third quarter. For the whole of 2016, prices in CCR, RCR and OCR have fallen by 1.3 per cent, 2.8 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively.

Projecting a prolonged U-shape recovery, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia Desmond Sim noted that it would require a major macro stimulus in the form of stronger global economic prospects and jobs market to fuel a swift market recovery.

While developers with relatively healthy balance sheets and shrinking unsold inventory are still able to maintain prices in their projects, owners looking to sell their units in the secondary market will have lower holding power amid rising mortgage costs, Mr Sim said.

JLL national director of research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui felt that the perception of prices bottoming and realistic pricing are likely to spur demand in 2017, hence buffering the price fall. "Rising interest rates and expected slow economic growth in 2017 will, however, be an impediment to a quick turnaround in the market," he added.

Various projects will face the risk of having their additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) remission being clawed back from this year onwards. Under the ABSD conditions, developers are required to finish building and selling a project on a residential site within five years or pay ABSD on land cost with interest.

But Mr Sim reckoned the market impact to be minimal as most developers are more likely to cough out that one-off payment - which could be offset with better pricing of the units when the market recovers - than to slash prices that will put a lid on valuations for the overall market.

Projects that may face ABSD remission claw-back this year include The Trilinq by IOI Properties; Mon Jervois, Pollen & Bleu and Alex Residences by Singapore Land; The Glades by Keppel Land and China Vanke; Kingsford Hillview Peak by Kingsford Development; as well as The Crest by a Wing Tai-led consortium. Among them, The Crest and The Trilinq have the most number of leftover units, with 323 units and 278 units still unsold as of end-November.

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Singapore private housing prices down 3% in 2016

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THE BUSINESS TIMES Real Estate - THE residential market is showing signs of stabilising even as private home prices slipped for the 13th consecutive quarter, going by the government's flash estimates for the fourth quarter.. Read more at The Business Times.

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Source By: https://thenewsavvy.com/spend/property/public-housing-in-singapore/

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So you're thinking of being an adult and investing in purchasing a property in Singapore. Way to go! Without sounding like we're ridiculously biased, Singapore does have many things going for it - a booming economy for one, that serves as a melting pot for different cultures in South East Asia. There are many kinds of properties that you could invest in which is discussed in 3 Types of Real Estate in Singapore.

Public Housing in Singapore

For starters, most young couples opt for a residential flat from Housing Development Board (HDB). These flats are thoughtfully built and are available in most locations. To know how each type of HDB flat differs, here are some of your options:
Build-To-Order (BTO)
BTO under the HDB in Singapore is an allocation system wherein applicants can apply to a specific location of their choice, only to wait for a specific time before they can move in. Also, the construction of the apartments will start once 65-70% of the apartment has already been booked.
Design, Build, And Sell Scheme (DBSS)
Design, Build, and Sell Scheme was introduced by Singapore's HDB in 2005 wherein public housing will be developed by private developers. The reason for the DBSS is that it has better designs and location. Tampines, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan are among the areas with 13 DBSS projects.
Executive Condominiums (EC)
The Executive Condo is meant for those individuals and families who cannot afford private property, but would like to enjoy the perks of a private condominium like having playgrounds, swimming pools and other similar amenities.

EC is different from BTO properties in a way that from the sixth to 10 th year, EC's will have to be re-sold to those who are permanent residents, and upon the 11 th year, ECs will be open for both foreign individuals and companies.
Perks of Investing In Public Housing in Singapore?
Just like in any part of the world, having a property is a good decision as this could provide you with different perks. A quick 3 Reasons You Should Invest In Real Estate. For instance, looking at the property cycle in Singapore over the last couple of years, you will find a steady rise in real estate's value. This could provide capital gains after a few years of acquisition. If you are interested on having a passive income, it is also possible that you choose to look into the possibility of having your property rented out.

Curious to know where we are Singapore Housing Cycle ?
What To Look For In Each Category?
When it comes to investing in a real estate property, it is a good idea to look for different factors such as accessibility to MRT stations, schools and other related facilities. Also, ask yourself if you would look to resell the property. Try to see what are your options for each property, since not all properties can be resold immediately to a foreigner or a company. And of course, you should evaluate your ability to pay for the property.
Costs You Need To Check
Just what are the costs involved when getting a property in Singapore? For one, you have to check your stamp duty rate. Based on the market value of the property, you could compute for your Buyer's Stamp Duty. Let's assume that you purchased a property for $2.5 million. How does a BSD computation look like? 1% of the first $180,000 added to the 2% of the second $180,000 and 3% of the remainder, here you get the computation for the BSD.

Given this scenario, you'll be paying roughly around $69,600 for the BSD alone. Also, you have to take into consideration the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty meant for residential properties which have a different computation depending if you are a foreigner, a citizen or a permanent resident.

After looking at the stamp duty involved, you also want to check the lawyer's fee. After assessing all of these, you can then have an idea which type of property in Singapore you could afford.

Anna Haotanto is the CEO of The New Savvy. Anna is the President of the Singapore Management University Women Alumni. She is part of the founding committee of the Singapore FinTech Association and heads the Women In FinTech and Partnership committee. She is passionate about finance, education, women empowerment and children's issues. Anna's story is featured on Millionaire Minds on Channel NewsAsia. She is the host for Channel NewsAsia for Challenge Tomorrow, a FinTech documentary. Anna was awarded " Her Times Youth Award" at the Rising50 Women Empowerment Gala, organised by the Indonesian Embassy of Singapore. The award was presented by His Excellency Ngurah Swajaya. She is part of LinkedIn Power Profiles 2017 for founders. She was nominated and selected for FORTUNE Most Powerful Women conference in 2017, 2016 (Asia) and 2015 (San Francisco, Next Gen). Anna has been featured on CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, Forbes, The Straits Times, Reuters Mone.y, Business Insider, The Peak Magazine, INC, The New Paper, The Edge Singapore & Malaysia, Oxford Said Business School, AsiaOne, Singapore Computer Society, Vulcan Post, e27, eFinancialCareers, Singapore Women's Weekly, 8Days, Asian Entrepreneur and Singapore Management University. She headlines the infocommercial for Lifetime Asia: What does a boss look like? with over 1.7 Million views. She was the keynote speaker for ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur forum.

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Public Housing in Singapore - Know The Differences!

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So you're thinking of being an adult and investing in purchasing a property in Singapore. Way to go! Without sounding like we're ridiculously biased, Singapore does have many things going for it - a booming economy for one, that serves as a melting pot for different cultures in South East Asia.

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Source by: https://youtu.be/Mt5uWxdsYJU

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• Public Housing (HDB)
• 2 - room flat
• 3 - room flat
• 4 - room flat
• 5 - room flat
• 3 gen flat
• Executive flats
• Shop houses

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• Private Housing
• Condominiums
• Apartments
• Landed property
• Terrace houses
• Bungalow house
• Executive condominiums
• Walk ups
• Conservation Houses

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- To provide reasonable pricing homes of high excellence refinement
- To create lively and maintainable towns
- To promote the building of energetic and coherent communities
- To motivate and enable each other to give our best

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To create an excellent organisation in which people commit to fulfilling ambitions for homes and communities everyone is proud of

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Source by: https://youtu.be/0MIurw7VD58

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Building a Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Singapore

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n 1924,  Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1927 was set up by the colonial government to provide low-cost housing in addition to improvement works. To review the living conditions in central area of Singapore, the colonial government set up a housing commission which was Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT). The SIT wanted to provide housing for the improvement of the town and island, Singapore.
In 1932, SIT was given permission to undertake building projects to accommodate the the rapidly growing population. However, their efforts were soon wasted as they could not meet the high demand of housing, which made a problem of housing shortage. The conditions of housing shortage worsened after the war - basic services of a house is not available, cramped and unhygenic environment.
Thankfully, on 1960, SIT was replaced by HDB, which developed HDB flats, with basic services, spacious environment, and hygenic surroundings, considering to be a luxury for the people then. Surprisingly, their HDB flats were enough for the high population in Singapore. On 1976,  half of the local population were living in HDB flats.

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Source by: http://theindependent.sg/hdb-installs-solar-panels-big-time-to-only-benefit-pub-and-tcs/

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Source by: https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/parliament-dual-waste-chutes-for-new-private-flats-to-spur-on-recycling

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Source by: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/life-before-hdb-what-was-the-singapore-improvement-trust