[Post 1142] When Will I Get My Home? | Singapore's Public Housing Revealed

Summary

Unlike most countries, nearly 80% of Singapore’s resident population live in subsidised public housing. And for many locals, getting a BTO – the Housing and Development Board’s Build-to-Order flats – has become a rite of passage. But as with most such rites, it comes with its challenges. A quick search on social media will throw up numerous stories about how frustrating the BTO balloting system is and how some are not able to get a flat even after multiple tries.

With new launches regularly oversubscribed, is it a simple matter of supply not meeting demand? Can a tiny nation ever sate its population’s hunger for public housing? We examine the push-pull factors the HDB and the government have to grapple with and look to the future on what public housing in Singapore might look like.