THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HOUSING PATTERNS AND PRICES IN SINGAPORE.

Abstract

Being a small island, Singapore is especially vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, which therefore necessitates increased mitigation efforts. To help authorities make better decisions on the development and application of climate policies, it will be important to understand how citizens will react to these policies, and one example will be their disposal of housing assets. This study aims to investigate the impact of sea level rise (SLR) on HDB transacted resale prices in Singapore. The main statistical approach utilises the hedonic pricing model. Based on 2,589 HDB resale transactions gathered between 2021 and 2022 from three sea level rise zones identified in Singapore, it was found that housing prices within the 1 km radius of SLR zones will face a significant price discount of 4.40%. To better substantiate the findings, a survey was also conducted to gather results about individuals’ perceptions of climate change in Singapore. A total of 500 surveys were collected from individuals aged 18 and above who reside in different planning districts in Singapore. It was observed that there was a general increase in climate change awareness among Singapore citizens today compared to five years ago. For future home-buying behaviour among respondents, 39.0% of respondents have opted to live in "less flood-prone areas. As current studies are carried out at these sites to better understand the mitigation plans needed, the study assists future research for housing prices before and after measures have been implemented to curb climate change.