Singapore's successful model in public housing: The HDB system
Quick Look
- In Singapore's Toa Payoh district, Housing & Development Board (HDB) model apartments, where four out of five Singaporeans live, can be viewed.
- Depending on the location, a five-room apartment with 110 square meters costs 390,000 Singapore dollars (260,000 euros), although no equity capital may be required when the contract is concluded.
- The World Bank praises the HDB as the best public housing in the world.
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Why It Matters
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is Singapore's public housing authority and is considered the best in the world by the World Bank.
The key to Singapore's success can be found on the third floor of a gray administrative complex in the Toa Payoh district. The model apartments in which four out of five Singaporeans live can be viewed here every day from half past eight in the morning to five in the evening. Depending on the location, the five-room apartment with 110 square meters costs 390,000 Singapore dollars, the equivalent of 260,000 euros. This is a bargain in the Southeast Asian financial center with one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. Especially since the contract may not require a dollar of equity, thanks to the developer: the Housing & Development Board (HDB), the authority that, according to the World Bank, is responsible for “the best public housing in the world”.
Open Questions
- What is the average waiting time for an HDB flat?
- What are the income limits for eligibility for HDB purchase?
- How is the quality of HDB apartments ensured in the long term?
