Public Homeownership, Housing Finance and Socioeconomic Development in Singapore

This paper first presents an analytic review of Singapore public homeownership policy developments over the past 35 years. The analysis will then focus on the two main reasons contributing to the success of Singapore public homeownership: the country's model of public housing finance; and the significant role public homeownership has played in its economic development. Finally, the paper concludes that the Singapore public housing system is not a ready package that can be applied anywhere, but that it does offer experiences that could be useful for other countries.