Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Get 15% discount your next Manta Sleep mask by using the code "beautifully"! mantasleep.pxf.io/rEDxGG
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) are Singapore’s public housing agency that have built flats all over the island since the 1960s. What makes Singapore unique is that more than 80% of its residents live in HDB. Somehow, Singapore turned a construct usually seen as for the poor and disadvantaged, into a tool for wealth creation for the aspirational middle class. This is the story of how Singapore achieved one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. But there’s a catch - because this is also the story of how that system has become increasingly complicated, broken…and why it might just never work anywhere else.
Check out my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/building_beautifully
Check out my store: https://buildingbeautifully.com.au/
Support me over at Patreon! patreon.com/c/user/membership?u=82269508
Join my Discord: discord.gg/Hg2cMkaedH
Check out my TikTok: tiktok.com/@buildingbeautifully
Links:
My video on Singapore's MRT from 2023: youtu.be/A-2yJuLcVcE
Singapore’s HDB YouTube channel, where I got a lot of this video’s footage from: youtube.com/@singaporeHDB
HDB website: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/homepage
Lee Kuan Yew: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew
PropertyGuru, which is basically Singapore’s version of Australia’s Domain: https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/
An example document of the prices for BTO flats in Singapore: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/-/media/hdb-pulse/news/2025/hdb-launches-10622-flats-in-february-2025-bto-and-sbf-exercises/Annex-A.pdf
Information on Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy: https://cityperspectives.smu.edu.sg/article/living-diversity-singapores-unique-ethnic-integration-policy
House price statistics for Singapore in 2026: https://smartwealth.sg/average-house-price-singapore/
Over 1,500 million-dollar HDB resale flats sold in 2025: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/over-1500-million-dollar-hdb-resale-flats-sold-2025
Proportion of BTOs sold within a year of meeting minimum occupation period doubled between 2016 and 2020: channelnewsasia.com/singapore/proportion-btos-sold-within-year-meeting-minimum-occupation-period-doubled-between-2016-and-2020-hdb-5633676
'Looking for someone to BTO with me': Man pastes notices in public, sparks debate online: asiaone.com/singapore/looking-someone-bto-me-man-pastes-notices-public-sparks-debate-online
Australia’s Reserve Bank paper on The Effect of Zoning on House Prices: https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2018/pdf/rdp2018-03.pdf
Get 15% discount your next Manta Sleep mask by using the code "beautifully"! mantasleep.pxf.io/rEDxGG
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) are Singapore’s public housing agency that have built flats all over the island since the 1960s. What makes Singapore unique is that more than 80% of its residents live in HDB. Somehow, Singapore turned a construct usually seen as for the poor and disadvantaged, into a tool for wealth creation for the aspirational middle class. This is the story of how Singapore achieved one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. But there’s a catch - because this is also the story of how that system has become increasingly complicated, broken…and why it might just never work anywhere else.
Check out my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/building_beautifully
Check out my store: https://buildingbeautifully.com.au/
Support me over at Patreon! patreon.com/c/user/membership?u=82269508
Join my Discord: discord.gg/Hg2cMkaedH
Check out my TikTok: tiktok.com/@buildingbeautifully
Links:
My video on Singapore's MRT from 2023: youtu.be/A-2yJuLcVcE
Singapore’s HDB YouTube channel, where I got a lot of this video’s footage from: youtube.com/@singaporeHDB
HDB website: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/homepage
Lee Kuan Yew: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew
PropertyGuru, which is basically Singapore’s version of Australia’s Domain: https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/
An example document of the prices for BTO flats in Singapore: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/-/media/hdb-pulse/news/2025/hdb-launches-10622-flats-in-february-2025-bto-and-sbf-exercises/Annex-A.pdf
Information on Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy: https://cityperspectives.smu.edu.sg/article/living-diversity-singapores-unique-ethnic-integration-policy
House price statistics for Singapore in 2026: https://smartwealth.sg/average-house-price-singapore/
Over 1,500 million-dollar HDB resale flats sold in 2025: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/over-1500-million-dollar-hdb-resale-flats-sold-2025
Proportion of BTOs sold within a year of meeting minimum occupation period doubled between 2016 and 2020: channelnewsasia.com/singapore/proportion-btos-sold-within-year-meeting-minimum-occupation-period-doubled-between-2016-and-2020-hdb-5633676
'Looking for someone to BTO with me': Man pastes notices in public, sparks debate online: asiaone.com/singapore/looking-someone-bto-me-man-pastes-notices-public-sparks-debate-online
Australia’s Reserve Bank paper on The Effect of Zoning on House Prices: https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2018/pdf/rdp2018-03.pdf
