As a rising senior, I am about to embark on the wild journey that is apartment hunting. However, for many Singaporean residents, apartment hunting does not begin until after their marriage or in their late 20s. Due to scarce land and an ever declining birth date, the Singaporean government has taken several measures that make single people under the age of 35 to go through a lot of difficulties to get their own house. Furthermore, families are given preferences for housing over unmarried buyers. So, how has housing changed in Singapore? What does it look like now? Has it impacted the average Singaporean!? This blog tries to answer these questions.
History of Housing in Singapore
After World World War II, most residents of Singapore lived in Kampongs i.e. villages. Extended families lived under the same roof and most houses were traditional “Attap houses” made of Attap palm. However, these houses were very prone to fire. When the People’s Action Party came to power in the 1950s, they began to modernize Singapore. Urbanization and modernization became even more important once Singapore became independent. Without no natural resources and limited land, the pragmatic state had to start relying on developing Singapore’s manufacturing and services sector! It had another important work to do, inculcate nationalism amongst its diverse yet fragmented population, which had been segregated from each other on the basis of ethnicity, religion, clan associations etc. One way to do so was through housing!
Today, a majority of the Singaporeans live in tall high rises. The shifting of people from kampongs to urban planned townships began in the 1960s and continued into the late 1980s and early 1990s.
I visited the housing estate in the quaint Tiong Bahru area, which was built in the 1920s and 30s and is characterized by its unique architecture, a change from modern Singapore's high rise apartments.
Housing Today
These days, people live in 3 different kinds of accommodations in Singapore, access to these housing options differ on the basis of income. Broad categories include: HDB
Flats, Executive Condominiums, and Private Property. Most HDB flats and Executive Condominiums are bought by the tenants on a 99 years lease.
HDB Flats: They come in different sizes, and are developed by the government run Housing development Board. These houses are some of the most affordable housing options for residents, and are located in “housing estates.” I happened to stay at a family friends house for few days due to my ankle injury. During this time I observed that many of the HDB housing estates include community gardens, playgrounds and a place of worship that includes deities and prayer rooms for all religions. Apparently, the government has a racial quota in each housing estate to keep them as diverse as possible and force members of different ethnicities to interact with each other as neighbours.
Executive Condominiums: These are fancier and more spacious options for people who want to buy bigger houses but can’t probably afford a “private property”. A lot of expats and skilled immigrants ( called foreign talent) live in these kinds of housing. I haven’t visited one, but I’ve heard that these condominiums have really nice swimming pools!
Private Properties: Owning a “private landed” property is beyond a LOT of Singaporeans imagination. There are some very pretty row houses near NUS’ Utown campus. When I asked some of the local students about these properties and who owned them, they laughed, “Millionaires and billionaires lah!” When I walked along some of the private properties, that can range from bunglows to “shophouses,” I could see why they were so expensive. In a country, where territory is carefully planned and developed, these houses are HUGE!
Urban Housing: A Boon, Bane or Both?
The shift from a kampong lifestyle to that of an urban high rise system affected a lot of people, especially the elderly, who at first were confused by elevators, the symmetrical housing complexes and uniform doors. Furthermore, locals always complain about how impersonal everybody has become and that HDBs lack the “Kampong spirit.” One of my Singaporean aunties says that Singaporeans are “being pigeonholed” by the HDBs with small houses, high payments and a 99 year lease.
However, HDBs are an important part of Singaporean society and have become a means to improve sanitation, health conditions and even change the very basic structure of Singaporean society — the family. Furthermore, housing has allowed for the facilitation of inter-race relations in Singapore. For most people, HDB flats is the cheap and affordable ways to become landowners.