{"id":3802,"date":"2015-12-21T05:23:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-20T21:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=3802"},"modified":"2022-07-01T03:39:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T19:39:11","slug":"condo-versus-hdb-living-for-expats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/condo-versus-hdb-living-for-expats\/","title":{"rendered":"Condo vs. HDB Living for Expats in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you’re an expat renting<\/a> in Singapore, you might have noticed the big divide between public and private housing. Over 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in HDB flats<\/a>, so if you think living in a condo<\/a> sets expats further apart from experiencing life as a local, you\u2019re completely right. Still, the trade-offs for expats may be worth it:<\/p>\n

A rundown on Condo versus HDB living for expats<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Housing Development Board (HDB) flats are subsidised public housing for Singaporeans. You may have noticed property prices here are pretty high; it will generally take a million Singapore dollars (or something close to it) to get a condo.<\/p>\n

But you should also know is that public housing in Singapore doesn\u2019t mean \u201cslum\u201d or \u201cghetto\u201d. In fact, there are many classes of HDB flats, some of which have risen to match the value of private condominiums.<\/p>\n

For example, there are HDB flats that fall under the Design, Build, and Sell Scheme (DBSS), which have interiors that match the quality of private housing. Another \u201csandwich\u201d class of HDB flats are Executive Condominiums<\/a> (ECs), which are built by private developers and all have the amenities of a private condo. Don\u2019t make the assumption that living in a HDB flat means living like a pauper.<\/p>\n

\"condo<\/h3>\n

The main differences between condo and HDB living, which expats should note, are:
\nExposure to local culture<\/p>\n