The Creation and Economic Regulation of Housing Markets: A Comparison of the Experiences of Singapore and Korea

• Main Author: PHANG, Sock-Yong
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
• Subjects: Housing; public housing; housing prices; government policies; Singapore; South Korea; Asian Studies; International Economics; Public Economics; Real Estate
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/884; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/1883/viewcontent/Phang_CreationEconomicRegulationHousingMarkets.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Privatization, creation of markets and economic regulation are terms that few would immediately associate with the housing sector. Mainstream housing markets in most of the free market economies of the developed world are regarded as competitive markets, with little need for economic regulation of the market. Regulations that attempt to control behavior directly are generally limited to policies relating to rent control, the provision of rental housing or rental allowances for lower income groups, as well as land use regulations and building controls. The housing sectors of Singapore and Korea are highly unusual in the extent of government involvement and intervention. A large segment of the housing market comprises housing built by the government and sold to households who do not have complete ownership rights, as these markets are heavily regulated to prevent speculation and profiteering. Section 2 of this paper describes the phases of housing policy in Singapore from the post war period of chronic housing shortage to the present period of excess housing stock. In Section 3, the numerous instruments used by the government to regulate supply, demand and prices in the various housing segments are described. Section 4 briefly describes the phases of Korea’s housing policies and Section 5 concludes by drawing relevant lessons from Singapore’s experience in creating and regulating housing markets for Korea.