# Epochs of Singapore real estate: From nation builder to future city artisan

- **Source:** The Business Times
- **Published:** 2026-09-30T23:00:00.000Z
- **Author:** Dr Amy Khor, Tay Kah Poh
- **Original:** https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/bt50/epochs-singapore-real-estate-nation-builder-future-city-artisan
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Commercial & Industrial, Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The sustainability shift signals that energy performance, climate resilience and adaptability may increasingly influence property attractiveness, obsolescence risk, investment returns and asset values.

## AI summary

Two-thirds of Singapore’s buildings are green, against an 80% target by 2030, while over 30% of new developments have achieved Super Low Energy status.

## Original article

AS SINGAPORE celebrates six decades of remarkable nation building, few sectors have contributed more to the country’s success than real estate, which has had an impact reaching far beyond economics.

We often conceive of real estate as assets such as Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats, private housing, shops, offices and factories. They cost large sums of money and are highly desirable to own or invest in.

Yet, in Singapore, real estate has always been much more than just an asset class. Across the decades, it has been an instrument of public policy, an engine of economic growth, a creator of wealth, a platform for social cohesion and, increasingly, an enabler of sustainability and resilience.

The earliest phase of Singapore’s real estate evolution was fundamentally about survival.

At independence in 1965, the Republic faced an acute housing crisis. Nearly three-quarters of the population lived in overcrowded kampongs, squatter settlements or dilapidated shophouses with poor sanitation and limited infrastructure.

Housing was therefore not merely a property issue; it was a nation-building imperative.

The establishment of HDB in 1960 marked one of Singapore’s most transformative public policy interventions. Using the powers conferred by the Land Acquisition Act of 1966, the government acquired land systematically to facilitate comprehensive urban redevelopment and public housing.

Within the first five years of its existence, the board had built more than 50,000 flats. By 1970, about one-third of Singaporeans were already living in HDB flats.

It was also during this period that the government introduced the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) to enable Singaporeans to become lessees of HDB flats for 99 years. Homeownership became a cornerstone of Singapore’s social compact.

Allowing Central Provident Fund savings to be used for home purchases in 1968 enabled more ordinary Singaporeans to own their homes, fostering social stability, community identity and a tangible stake in the nation’s future.

Real estate’s role during this turbulent era of independence and self-government was, therefore, as a nation builder.

Having addressed the immediate housing challenge, real estate evolved into a powerful catalyst for industrialisation and economic transformation.

The 1970s saw the rapid development of Jurong Industrial Estate, one of Singapore’s boldest economic initiatives.

Supported by industrial land planning, transport infrastructure and port expansion, Jurong attracted multinational corporations and established the Republic as a manufacturing hub.

Commercial real estate also expanded rapidly.

The redevelopment of the Central Business District began around the mouth of Singapore River. Godowns and shophouses gave way to soaring office towers in Raffles Place and Shenton Way, paving the way for Singapore’s growth as a financial hub.

Modern shopping centres such as Plaza Singapura and Lucky Plaza emerged, fundamentally reshaping Singapore’s urban landscape while spurring domestic consumption, and creating a services and retail sector.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Concept Plan released in 1971 introduced long-term integrated land use and transport planning.

The Concept Plan, now refreshed as the Long-Term Plan, together with the five-yearly Master Plan, seek to optimise land use and by extension value creation across the country.

There have been many iterations of both plans in response to demographic and socio-economic shifts. But in many ways, the Concept Plan produced a blueprint for housing, transport, industry and commercial developments to evolve cohesively rather than independently.

Real estate had therefore by this point become a powerful catalyst of national development, supporting investment, employment and economic diversification.

By the 1980s, Singapore’s economy had matured significantly.

The 1980s and 1990s were periods of stunning transformation for the Republic. Its economy began a multi-decade pivot from labour-intensive industries to higher value-added sectors such as precision engineering, electronics and chemicals.

It was also a period of massive infrastructure development. Changi Airport opened in 1981, and the first MRT trains started operations in 1987. Over the same period, mixed-use mega projects such as Raffles City, Marina Square and Suntec City emerged.

Homeownership surged, surpassing 80 per cent of resident households by the end of the 1980s.

Real estate increasingly became a generator of household and corporate wealth. The expansion of private residential developments, office buildings, business parks, hotels and retail centres reflected rising affluence and international investor confidence.

The government progressively liberalised the property market while carefully introducing cooling measures whenever necessary to maintain long-term stability and affordability.

The development of real estate investment trusts (Reits) in Singapore from 1999 transformed property ownership. Since the launch of the first Reit here in 2002, the Republic has become the largest Reit market in Asia ex-Japan.

According to the Reit Association of Singapore, there are some 39 traded Singapore Reits and property trusts, with an estimated total market capitalisation of about S$100 billion as at the end of March.

Property valuation, financing and professional services also matured rapidly, establishing Singapore as a regional real estate hub.

During this period, property became the principal store of wealth for many Singaporean households while attracting significant foreign investment into commercial real estate. The sector thus evolved into both a wealth creator and an important engine of economic growth.

At the start of the new millennium, the role of real estate shifted once again. Economic competitiveness remained important, but new priorities emerged as Singapore had become one of the world’s most globalised cities.

Real estate increasingly had to support cutting-edge knowledge industries, biomedical sciences, financial services, digital technology and innovation, not just as “space” to house these activities, but as “place” to optimise production processes, engineer cross-pollination of ideas, support prototyping and market testing.

Major developments such as Marina Bay Financial Centre, One Raffles Quay, Paya Lebar Quarter, Jewel Changi Airport, Punggol Digital District as well as the upcoming Jurong Island data centre park and Greater Southern Waterfront exemplify how real estate has become a strategic platform for economic transformation.

At the same time, housing policy continued evolving to strengthen affordability and social stability. HDB today houses about 80 per cent of Singapore’s resident population; around 90 per cent of resident households own their homes, giving the Republic one of the highest homeownership rates globally.

Real estate also became an instrument for addressing demographic change and social well-being and cohesion. Age-friendly towns, barrier-free accessibility, community care facilities, healthcare infrastructure and integrated developments increasingly reflect the changing lifestyles and needs of Singapore’s ageing population.

Perhaps the most profound shift during this period has been sustainability.

Buildings account for about 20 per cent of Singapore’s carbon emissions. Improving building performance therefore represents one of Singapore’s largest decarbonisation opportunities.

The Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Scheme, introduced in 2005 and updated in 2021, has transformed industry practices. Today, two-thirds of Singapore’s buildings are now green, with the national target of greening 80 per cent by 2030.

More than 30 per cent of new developments today have achieved Super Low Energy status, and the highest-performing green buildings use 72 per cent less energy than buildings in 2025.

Modern developments increasingly incorporate solar energy, district cooling, smart building management systems, rainwater harvesting, green roofs and biodiversity-sensitive landscaping.

Real estate consequently became an important contributor not only to economic growth, but also to environmental sustainability, climate resilience and social well-being.

Looking ahead, the next transformation may be even more profound.

Artificial intelligence, digital twins, robotics, advanced sensors, autonomous systems and machine learning are fundamentally changing how buildings are designed, constructed, managed and valued.

Buildings will increasingly become intelligent assets rather than passive physical structures. Digital twins will continuously optimise energy use. AI will predict maintenance requirements before failures occur.

Occupancy patterns will dynamically adjust lighting, ventilation and workspace configurations. Autonomous cleaning, security and logistics systems will become commonplace.

Yet, technology alone will not define “real estate 4.0”.

Climate change is reshaping investment decisions. Regenerative design, circular construction materials and climate resilience will become mainstream rather than optional. Future developments will increasingly integrate – among others – blue-green infrastructure, urban biodiversity, carbon reduction, flood resilience and heat mitigation as core design principles.

Singapore’s “City in Nature” vision already provides a glimpse of this future. Integrated, mixed-use developments are becoming self-contained ecosystems where people can live, work, learn and play within 15-minute neighbourhoods, supported by public transport, walking, cycling, digital connectivity and abundant green spaces.

Real estate will also become increasingly flexible. Buildings will be designed to adapt to changing demographics, evolving work patterns and new technologies throughout their life cycle rather than being built for a single purpose. Think of the co-working and co-living spaces that have mushroomed in recent years.

The emphasis will shift from maximising floor space to maximising long-term social, environmental and economic value – attributes that will increasingly determine a property’s attractiveness to users, investors and capital.

Property professionals will therefore also have to up their game and evolve, developing the skills and methodologies to assess how intelligence, sustainability, climate resilience, adaptability and human-centred design affect an asset’s income, risk, obsolescence, investment performance and ultimately its value.

Over the past six decades, Singapore’s real estate sector has continually reinvented itself in response to changing national priorities and needs, from providing homes to enabling industrialisation, creating wealth, supporting global competitiveness, strengthening social cohesion and advancing sustainability.

Real estate has never been merely about constructing buildings. Instead, it has always been about building the future that Singapore needs.

Real estate will remain at the heart of that transformation – not merely as bricks and mortar, but as one of the nation’s most powerful platforms for shaping economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and social well-being.

In that sense, the story of Singapore’s real estate sector is far from complete. Its most exciting chapter may well still lie ahead.

Dr Amy Khor is honorary adviser and Tay Kah Poh is first vice-president of the Valuation and General Practice Division at the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers. Dr Khor was previously senior minister of state in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, as well as in the Ministry of Transport.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: openai_codex_cli

### 新加坡房地产的时代演进：从国家建设者到未来城市匠人

该行业塑造了经济繁荣、环境治理和社会福祉

在新加坡庆祝60年卓越建国历程之际，很少有行业比房地产对国家成功作出更大贡献，其影响远超经济层面。

我们常常把房地产理解为建屋发展局（HDB）组屋、私人住宅、商店、办公室和工厂等资产。它们价格高昂，也极具拥有或投资吸引力。

然而，在新加坡，房地产一直远不止是一个资产类别。数十年来，它一直是公共政策工具、经济增长引擎、财富创造者、社会凝聚平台，并且日益成为可持续性和韧性的推动者。

新加坡房地产演进的最早阶段，根本上关乎生存。

1965年独立时，新加坡面临严峻的住房危机。近四分之三的人口居住在拥挤的甘榜、寮屋区或卫生条件差且基础设施有限的破旧店屋中。

因此，住房不仅仅是房地产问题；它是国家建设的当务之急。

1960年HDB的成立，标志着新加坡最具变革性的公共政策干预之一。政府利用1966年《土地征用法》赋予的权力，系统性地征用土地，以推动全面的城市重建和公共住房建设。

在成立后的前五年内，建屋局已建成超过50,000套组屋。到1970年，约三分之一的新加坡人已住进HDB组屋。

也是在这一时期，政府推出了居者有其屋计划（HOS），让新加坡人能够成为HDB组屋99年租赁权的承租人。拥屋成为新加坡社会契约的基石。

1968年允许使用中央公积金储蓄购房，使更多普通新加坡人能够拥有自己的住房，促进了社会稳定、社区认同，并让人们对国家未来拥有实实在在的参与感。

因此，在独立和自治的动荡年代，房地产的角色是国家建设者。

在解决眼前住房挑战后，房地产演变为工业化和经济转型的强大催化剂。

1970年代见证了裕廊工业区的快速发展，这是新加坡最大胆的经济举措之一。

在工业用地规划、交通基础设施和港口扩建的支持下，裕廊吸引了跨国公司，并确立了新加坡作为制造业中心的地位。

商业房地产也迅速扩张。

中央商业区的重建始于新加坡河口一带。货仓和店屋让位于莱佛士坊和珊顿道高耸的办公楼，为新加坡成长为金融中心铺平道路。

Plaza Singapura和Lucky Plaza等现代购物中心相继出现，在刺激国内消费、创造服务和零售行业的同时，从根本上重塑了新加坡的城市景观。

市区重建局于1971年发布的概念蓝图引入了长期综合土地使用和交通规划。

概念蓝图如今已更新为长期计划，并与每五年一次的总蓝图一起，旨在优化全国土地使用，并由此优化价值创造。

为回应人口和社会经济变化，这两项规划都经历了多次迭代。但在许多方面，概念蓝图为住房、交通、工业和商业发展协同演进，而非各自独立发展，制定了蓝图。

因此，到这一阶段，房地产已成为国家发展的强大催化剂，支持投资、就业和经济多元化。

到1980年代，新加坡经济已显著成熟。

1980年代和1990年代是新加坡令人惊叹的转型时期。其经济开始了持续数十年的转向，从劳动密集型产业转向精密工程、电子和化工等更高增值行业。

这也是大规模基础设施发展的时期。樟宜机场于1981年启用，首列地铁于1987年投入运营。同一时期，莱佛士城、滨海广场和新达城等综合用途大型项目相继出现。

拥屋率激增，到1980年代末超过居民家庭的80%。

房地产日益成为家庭和企业财富的创造者。私人住宅开发、办公楼、商业园、酒店和零售中心的扩张，反映出财富增长和国际投资者信心上升。

政府逐步放开房地产市场，同时在必要时审慎推出降温措施，以维持长期稳定和可负担性。

自1999年起，新加坡房地产投资信托（Reits）的发展改变了房地产所有权结构。自2002年本地首个Reit推出以来，新加坡已成为日本以外亚洲最大的Reit市场。

根据新加坡房地产投资信托协会的数据，截至3月底，新加坡约有39只上市新加坡Reits和房地产信托，总市值估计约为1,000亿新元。

房地产估值、融资和专业服务也迅速成熟，使新加坡成为区域房地产中心。

在此期间，房地产成为许多新加坡家庭最主要的财富储存方式，同时吸引了大量外国投资进入商业房地产。该行业由此演变为财富创造者，也是经济增长的重要引擎。

新千年伊始，房地产的角色再次转变。经济竞争力依然重要，但随着新加坡成为全球化程度最高的城市之一，新的优先事项浮现出来。

房地产日益需要支持前沿知识产业、生物医学科学、金融服务、数字技术和创新；它不仅是容纳这些活动的“空间”，也是优化生产流程、促成创意交叉交流、支持原型开发和市场测试的“场所”。

滨海湾金融中心、One Raffles Quay、Paya Lebar Quarter、Jewel Changi Airport、榜鹅数码园区，以及即将到来的裕廊岛数据中心园区和大南部滨水区等重大开发项目，体现了房地产如何成为经济转型的战略平台。

与此同时，住房政策继续演进，以强化可负担性和社会稳定。如今，HDB容纳约80%的新加坡居民人口；约90%的居民家庭拥有自己的住房，使新加坡成为全球拥屋率最高的国家之一。

房地产也成为应对人口变化、社会福祉和凝聚力的工具。适合年长者的市镇、无障碍通行、社区护理设施、医疗基础设施和综合发展项目，日益反映新加坡老龄人口不断变化的生活方式和需求。

也许这一时期最深刻的转变是可持续性。

建筑物约占新加坡碳排放的20%。因此，提升建筑性能代表着新加坡最大的脱碳机会之一。

建设局于2005年推出并于2021年更新的绿色建筑标志计划，改变了行业实践。如今，新加坡三分之二的建筑已是绿色建筑，国家目标是在2030年前实现80%建筑绿色化。

如今超过30%的新开发项目已达到超低能耗状态，表现最佳的绿色建筑用能比2025年的建筑低72%。

现代开发项目日益纳入太阳能、区域供冷、智能建筑管理系统、雨水收集、绿色屋顶和对生物多样性敏感的景观设计。

因此，房地产不仅成为经济增长的重要贡献者，也成为环境可持续性、气候韧性和社会福祉的重要贡献者。

展望未来，下一轮转型可能更加深刻。

人工智能、数字孪生、机器人技术、先进传感器、自主系统和机器学习，正在从根本上改变建筑的设计、建造、管理和估值方式。

建筑将日益成为智能资产，而非被动的实体结构。数字孪生将持续优化能源使用。人工智能将在故障发生前预测维护需求。

入住模式将动态调节照明、通风和工作空间配置。自主清洁、安保和物流系统将变得司空见惯。

然而，仅靠技术并不能定义“房地产4.0”。

气候变化正在重塑投资决策。再生设计、循环建筑材料和气候韧性将从可选项变为主流。未来开发项目将越来越多地把蓝绿基础设施、城市生物多样性、减碳、防洪韧性和降温等作为核心设计原则。

新加坡“自然里的城市”愿景已经让人一窥这一未来。综合用途开发项目正成为自给自足的生态系统，让人们能够在15分钟社区内生活、工作、学习和休闲，并由公共交通、步行、骑行、数字连接和充足绿地提供支撑。

房地产也将变得越来越灵活。建筑的设计将能够在整个生命周期中适应不断变化的人口结构、演变中的工作模式和新技术，而不是为单一用途而建。想想近年来如雨后春笋般出现的联合办公和共居空间。

重点将从最大化楼面面积，转向最大化长期社会、环境和经济价值；这些属性将日益决定物业对使用者、投资者和资本的吸引力。

因此，房地产专业人士也必须提升能力并不断演进，发展相关技能和方法，以评估智能化、可持续性、气候韧性、适应性和以人为本的设计如何影响资产的收入、风险、过时风险、投资表现，并最终影响其价值。

过去六十年来，新加坡房地产行业不断根据国家优先事项和需求变化进行自我重塑，从提供住房，到推动工业化、创造财富、支持全球竞争力、强化社会凝聚力和推进可持续性。

房地产从来不只是建造建筑。相反，它一直关乎建设新加坡所需要的未来。

房地产仍将处于这场转型的核心——不仅作为砖瓦和砂浆，更作为塑造经济繁荣、环境治理和社会福祉的国家最强大平台之一。

从这个意义上说，新加坡房地产行业的故事远未结束。其最令人兴奋的篇章，很可能仍在前方。

Amy Khor博士是新加坡测量师与估价师学会名誉顾问，Tay Kah Poh是该学会估值与综合执业部第一副会长。Khor博士此前曾任永续发展与环境部以及交通部高级政务部长。