HUDC flats in Singapore

Housing and Urban Development Company built 22 estates for middle-income people, of which 3 are not managed as public housing and one (Anthony Garden) was demolished in 1990s, leaving 18 HUDC estates that appear on official lists.

HDB took over JTC and HUDC in 1982. Phase III and IV are HUDC flats built by HDB, last HUDC was completed in 1987. HUDC was replaced by Executive HBD flats built since 1984. See also HUDC and the story of housing windfalls. Total: 22 HUDC estates, 9636-9658 units.

About me: I made the above list myself in 2011, because at that moment on all internet there was NO official list of Housing and Urban Development Company estates. A single source said that HUDC built 19 estates totaling 7750 units, but personally I identified 21 estates. In 2012 I found ST Property saying 18 HUDC estates totaling 7731 units, but there are 3 more estates which a real estate agent replied in PropertyGuru that they are HUDC estates too undergoing privatization, they being managed by other government boards, thus HDB Annual Reports never counted them as public housing.

Source of info: the HDB Annual Reports, old press releases on archive.org, and various blogs with news about HUDC privatization, this is why there are so many empty cells, question marks and some values may be not accurate.

Note: Amberville is written in HDB Press Releases as Phase I/II, Braddell View is not written, while Chancery Court is written as Phase II.

HDB launched HUDC privatization scheme in 1995. The privatization process is complex and takes about 1 year to complete. The estate is converted in strata-tiled and apartment owners became legal owners of the land under them. HUDC estates are eventually demolished as the owners may decide to sell their estate in a collective sale (en-bloc) to a private developer. HUDC estates are usually built with large spaces between blocks, so if it is demolished, a private developer can maximize the plot area and built 2-4 times more apartments than the original estate. The reason for which HUDC flats are transacted on resale market at prices over $1 million, much higher that HDB Executive flats, is exactly the en-bloc potential, if a developer buy the estate for redevelopment, may compensate each flat owner with $2 million.

Initially I guessed privatisation date using Annual Reports (dwelling units under management) and see in which years the number changed, oldest HDB Annual report found was from 1994, found via archive.org, showing 5411 HUDC units under management, none of them in towns plenty of HUDC estates such as Marine Parade, giving impression that they were already privatized before 1995. This because Phase I/II estates were under self-management thus not included in units under HDB management.

I added official privatization date in 2014, sourced from hudcsingapore.com, by this way I also organized the table by phases.

Mysterious HUDC: according HDB Annual Reports, under HDB management there are 38 HUDC units in Central Area (within 280-unit Pearl Bank Apartment) and 98 HUDC units in Pasir Ris Avenue / Terrace / Heights (terraced and semi-detached housing). I was able to prove their location using HDB Map Service. Also in Hougang another 140 HUDC units disappeared from HDB management between Annual Report 1995 and 1996, does anyone know where are located these units?

Starting from Annual Report 2015, HDB no longer include HUDC units under HDB management. All HUDC estates were privatized, except the 38 units in Pearl Bank and 98 units in Pasir Ris which their status is unknown but were removed from Annual Reports causing the total number of units in Central Area to drop by 38.