Singapore's housing model, with government ownership in land and property, proposed as potential solution to Canada's affordability issues, but experts warn of challenges due to differing social, land, and policy contexts.

Singapore's dominant government role in land ownership, property development, financing, and related aspects in society has been proposed as a potential solution to Canada's housing affordability issues, following the announcement of the BC Builds housing program in British Columbia. The Singaporean model has successfully achieved a 90% home-ownership rate since 1990, mainly due to its unique circumstances such as acute land scarcity and state-ownership of a majority of land. However, experts warn that adopting the full Singaporean model in Canada would be challenging due to differences in social environment, land availability, and the city-state's nature, which allows the government to make policies that are difficult to replicate in other contexts. Some aspects of Singapore's approach to public housing may be adaptable to different contexts, but a complete adoption of the Singaporean model in Canada would be challenging.

August 06, 2024
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