Skip to content

Housing in Singapore

As passion for architecture and love for Singapore, I made own research about Singapore housing since 2009. I published it originally as a single article “Singapore HDB History, Photos, Statistics and Floor Plans” in December 2009, added BTO & DBSS list in March 2011, EC list, SERS list and other 10+ more pages in 2012, split up HDB Statistics and HDB Price Trends from original article in 2012, and so on.

Map of HDB blocks in Singapore

Map of HDB blocks

12000+ HDB blocks from Singapore mapped by Teoalida, alternative to official HDB Map Services. Click block icons and view year built, number of floors, number of units breakdown by flat type, upgrading programmes, typical floor plans, chances to get SERS, etc. Apply filters to display only blocks that meet certain criteria.

HDB floor plan

HDB history and floor plan evolution 1930s – 2020s

This page shows floor plans of ~100 most common HDB flat types and most representative layouts, from 1930s SIT flats to present BTO flats.

Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Batok, Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Bukit Timah, Central Area, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi, Geylang, Hougang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Kallang/Whampoa, Marine Parade, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Queenstown, Sembawang, Sengkang, Serangoon, Tampines, Tengah, Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Yishun.

Singapore HDB

Singapore HDB database

Collecting data from multiple sources, I spent 500+ hours entering data in one Excel table: block number, street address, postal code, GPS coordinates, construction year, lease commence date, number of floors, number of units breakdown by flat type, upgrading programmes, brochures and floor plans.

The database has been purchased by several companies, including home insurance, telecommunication, door-to-door services, real estate portals, flyer distributors, etc. Season parking.

HDB Resale Price Index

HDB price trends

HDB Resale Price Index DOUBLED from 2007 to 2013, dropped 10% to 2015 then stabilized. When COVID-19 pandemic started, I was expecting prices dropping like during 2003 SARS, but contrary happened: internet connection available nowadays allowed people to work from home, and despite that pandemic caused a short-term global recession, it changed people lifestyle towards investing more in (bigger) homes, further accelerating prices growth.

Map of condos in Singapore

Map of private properties

An original project “Made by Teoalida” displaying data from PropertyGuru on an interactive map. Click condo pins on map to see details about each property such as address, completion year, tenure, number of units, developer, etc. You can also apply filters to display on map only HDB blocks that meet certain criteria.

HDB dwelling units per town and flat type

HDB statistics, facts & figures

– Number of dwelling units by town and flat type, table and chart
– Number of dwelling units by town and year 1990-present, table and chart
– Number of dwelling units by flat type and year 1990-present, table and chart
– Statistics for calculation of the average flat size along history
– HDB achievements since 1960
– Resale market statistics

HDB flat size comparison

HDB flat types and their sizes

Flat types guide: 1E, 2E, 1STD, 2STD, 3STD, 4STD, 5STD, 1I, 2I, 3I, 4I, 5I, 3NG, 4NG, 3S, 4S, 3A, 4A, 5A, EA, EM, MG, HUDC… Studio Apartment, 2-Room Flexi, 3-Room, 4-Room, 5-Room, Emergency, Standard, Improved, New Generation, Simplified, Model A, Executive Apartment / Maisonette, Multi-Generation, Standard vs Premium apartment.

Braddell View HUDC

List of HUDC estates

Officially there are 18 HUDC estates, but actually Housing and Urban Development Company built 22 estates for middle-income people, including 3 not managed as public housing and one demolished in 1990s. HDB took over JTC and HUDC in 1982. Phase III and IV are HUDC flats built by HDB, last HUDC was completed in 1987. HUDC was replaced by Executive HBD flats built since 1984.

Princess Elizabeth SIT blocks

List of HDB SERS sites

Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme was introduced in 1995. 71 sites were selected by 2007 and another 11 sites in 2008-2012. This page shows list of SERS sites and (personal prediction) future SERS sites. On 19 August 2018 HDB announced that only 5% of total sold flats are eligible for SERS, of which 4% have been selected already. For all other flats there will be VERS (Voluntary En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme) that will start in ~20 years (probably in 2036 when first leases reach 70 years old).

HDB flats size over years

HDB flats size 1960-2010 analysis: are the flats shrinking?

Ministry of National Development, Khaw Boon Wan, said in 2012 that HDB flats have been the same size for last 15 years and are not shrinking. This article has been copied on numerous blogs.

As you can see in the following chat, the 4-room flats leased in 2000 were 90 sqm and 4-room flats launched in 2012 (TOP 2016) are the same 90 sqm, so he is not lying, instead he is masking the shrinking that occurred 15-20 years ago, also he does not take in consideration that the 4-room flat was the smallest flat type in 2000, while today it is the average flat type.

condominium

List of Executive Condos

Executive Condominium (EC) is a form of subsidized housing built by private developers, having same eligibility restrictions like HDB (family nucleus, citizens and permanent residents), you should dispose any other property 30 months before applying, minimum occupation period of 5 years before you can sell to citizens and PR, even single PR. After 10 years since TOP date, all restrictions are lifted and even single foreigners can buy. I made an interactive map with TOP dates.

City View Boon Keng DBSS

List of DBSS projects

Design, Build and Sell Scheme was introduced in 2005, giving private developers freedom to build and sell public housing in the way they sell condos. Since private developers are hungry for profit, DBSS flats have smaller rooms and abnormal high prices compared with BTO flats despite of same income ceiling ($8.000 per month, $10.000 per month after 2011). DBSS land sales were suspended in 2011.

Bala's Table

What is Lease Commence Date & property depreciation

Properties in Singapore are by two types: freehold and leasehold. Leasehold in case of private residential buildings is 999 years, 99 years (or 103 years with 4 years construction time), or in rare cases, 60 years. Other types of buildings can have shorter leases. All HDB flats except Studio Apartments are leased on 99 years.

SIT Tiong Bahru Estate

List of old SIT estates

Singapore Improvement Trust set up in 1927 and focused on infrastructure, it also built small scale public housing, such as Tiong Bahru (started in 1936) and Queenstown (started in 1952 and completed by HDB in 1960s). In 32 years, SIT built only 23,000 flats, housing 8.8% of Singapore population in 1959.

Condo Database Management Corporations

MCST database

Looking for Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) phone numbers for telemarketing? I made this database for you sourcing data from BCA website > MCST enquiry, and update it on request basis. Sorry for people looking for email marketing but BCA do not provide MCST agent email addresses.

List of Singapore MRT and LRT stations

List of MRT and LRT stations

If you are looking for a database of Singapore MRT and LRT stations in Excel format, I created an Excel database for you in November 2019, copy-pasted from Wikipedia and visually enhanced in Excel to match the style of my other spreadsheets “Made by Teoalida”. In January 2020 I expanded database adding postal codes and GPS coordinates (sourced from OneMap.sg) for all stations that are opened or under construction.

HDB Annual Report

HDB Annual Reports 1927-present

I transcribed the tables in Annual Reports 1990-2017 into Excel (New Towns under development and Dwelling units under management by town and flat type). I can go further and do the same for 1960-1989 tables, also transcribe in Word all the Annual Reports if there is sufficient demand.

HDB Resale Flat Prices Database

Database of HDB resale flat prices in Excel format

On 1 April 2009, HDB improved its Resale Flat Prices e-service, now showing transactions for last 1 year instead of last 3 months, also added flat model beside floor area. I copied the listings for 1 year (April 2008 – March 2009) in Microsoft Excel, which were displaying 20 per page. I spent about 10 days at 5 hours per day. I did this for purpose of personal analysis, for example estimate average apartment size nationwide and per town, and showing the results of analysis in HDB Statistics page. Few months later HDB showed all transactions in a scroll-able list rather than 20 pages, allowing me to copy transactions much faster, so started to update my database once per year.

List of SBF launches

Sale of Balance Flats, comprising unsold leftover flats from past BTO launches, surplus flats from SERS projects, old repurchased flats (including flats from some divorced or fiance couples), are done “when HDB accumulate sufficient flats“, usually twice per year, but this is NOT A RULE. Since 2010 the SBF exercise is done same day with a BTO launch.

Update list

Several people asked me when the page was last updated.
If today I correct a spelling error, can be considered updated today?
Last update matter less… instead, please report if I forgot to add something, or suggest what else to add, and I may update it today!