Singapore private housing is ‘decoupling’ from HDB market as buyer pools diverge: NUS survey

[SINGAPORE] A structural divide may be emerging between Singapore’s public and private housing markets, as widening affordability gaps and policy measures increasingly shape buying dynamics.

In a survey by the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (Ireus), 31 per cent of respondents said they expect the private market to eventually become “structurally decoupled” from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) market, driven by “distinct buyer profiles with differing capacities and capital outlays”. 

Another 29 per cent said that ongoing supply scarcity will keep private home prices firm, regardless of fluctuations in the public housing market.