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[SINGAPORE] The number of Singapore residents – including both citizens and permanent residents – living in condominiums and other private apartments doubled in the last 15 years, driven by upgrader buying, higher incomes, and shifting preferences.

Data on ownership reflects the same trend – the number of resident households owning the condos and apartments they live in grew from 90,942 in 2009, to 220,756 in 2024, an increase of almost 2.5 times or 129,814 households.

Much of condo buying in the past has been fuelled by upgraders cashing out on their Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats into a booming resale market.

But with private property prices also hitting new highs in recent years and job prospects possibly turning less rosy as Singapore’s cost competitiveness deteriorates, buying power could be impacted in the future, say observers.

Data from the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) indicated that the number of Singapore citizens and permanent residents living in private non-landed homes rose by 348,986 or 98 per cent, from 357,532 in 2009 to 706,518 in 2024. The numbers include those renting their dwellings.