CU01 - Real Estate Agency Industry Overview Notes

Housing Development Board (HDB)
Build To Order (BTO)
Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS)
Executive Condominium (EC)
Resale Flats
- Planning, regulation and selling of new public flats
- Around 82% of Singapore’s population stays in Public Residential housing
- Affordable and Quality Homes
- Provided with various commercial, recreational and social facilities and amenities for the convenience of residents
- Authority over HDB flats transaction
- Provide Concessionary home loan
Build To Order (BTO)
- Allows HDB flats to be built according to housing demand
- Offers flexibility in location and timing for flat buyers
Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS)
- Introduced in 2005
- Involves private sector in the development of public housing
- Greater innovation in the building and design of flats
- More housing choices to flat buyers.
- Applicants can purchase direct for private developers or use HDB’s Conveyance services
Executive Condominium (EC)
- Introduced to cater to Singaporeans, especially young graduates and professionals who can afford more than an HDB flat but find private property out of their reach.
- Comparable in design and facilities to private condominiums as they are developed and sold by private developers
Resale Flats
- Any open market HDB flats by occupant (seller)
- Can be marketed by owners or Agents
- Occupants must fulfill the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and eligibility to sell
- Buyers must fulfill the eligibility to buy
Landed Residential

Total of 58 designated Landed Housing Areas
Good Class Bungalows
Town Houses and Cluster Houses
Good Class Bungalows
- 39 gazetted GCB areas
- Min size = 1400 sqm or 15,069.6 sft
- Min size = 400 sqm or 4,305.6 sft
- Min frontage = 10 m
- Min size = 200 sqm or 2,152.8 sft
- Min frontage = 8 m
- Corner – Min size = 200sqm (80sqm for Type II), Min Frontage = 8m
- Inter – Min size = 150sqm (80sqm for Type II), Min frontage = 6m
Town Houses and Cluster Houses
- Considered as landed form even though they are strata titled. Foreigners must apply for special approval from Land Dealings
- (Approval) Unit (LDU) under Singapore Lands Authority (SLA)
- Cluster houses – a hybrid between conventional landed housing and condominium housing. All units have ground contact but with shared facilities similar to those found in condominiums.
- Town House - One in a row of not less than 3 residential units
- having ground contact and common ownership of the land
Condominiums and Apartments

- Land parcel subdivided into AIRSPACE or vertical lots for residential dwelling
- Under Land Titles (Strata) Act, Strata-titles to be conferred on each separate residential lot (Subsidiary Strata Certificate Of Title or SSCT)
- Each purchaser will have a certain percentage SHARE in the COMMON property and each owner must pay amount to management and sinking funds
- Foreigners are allowed to purchase. (Note: even through cluster houses and town houses are strata-titled, they are still considered as restricted property to foreigners)
Key differences between the two:
- Condos have common facilities, e.g. pool, tennis courts, gym, etc
- Total land area of the condo development should be at least 4,000sqm
- Approved and accorded the title of "condominium" by the relevant authorities
Commercial Properties

- HDB Shop - Shop space within a HDB block
- Office - Office space in commercial office buildings or shop house
- Restaurant / Lounge - Commercial space suitable for cafe, restaurant, lounge businesses
- Shop/Shop space - For retail business in malls or shophouse
- Shophouse - Row of low-rise shops joint side by side with a living quarter / office above them
- Warehouse space for storage - May include some office space
HDB Commercial Property
Provided by HDB for short-term leases or tenancies in heartland estates
- Office usage
- Tuition centres
- Pre schools
Industrial Properties

HDB Industrial Premises
JTC Industrial Facilities
Industrial Facilities owned by REITs
Most important developer of industrial land properties is JTC Corporation (JTC)
Property Types provided by JTC:
- Warehouses, flatted factories and terrace workshops
JTC Industrial Facilities
Industrial Facilities owned by REITs
- Business parks
- Factories
- Warehouses
- Chemical plants
Most important developer of industrial land properties is JTC Corporation (JTC)
Property Types provided by JTC:
- Prepared industrial land – For custom built facilities on 30 or 60 years lease
- Ready-build factoriesLight and clean industries
- Start-up spaces / Range of start-up spaces for technopreneurs
- Specialized parks / For industries with specific facilities or location requirements, such as wafer fabrication parks, business parks and biomedical parks
Attention: The notes provided are for your general revision and is not to be exhaustive. When in doubt, please refer to the syllabus from the CEA website.