More than 90% of households in Singapore own the homes they live in. In some other countries, it is quite common for people to rent their homes, rather than buy.

In Singapore, rental is typically seen as short-term accommodation. For example, a young couple may choose to rent because they do not have cash for the down-payment for a property.

One likely reason why most people choose to buy instead of rent is that they can use CPF savings to pay the housing loan, instead of paying out-of-pocket cash for rentals. Also, while rental is an expense, a housing loan instalment is a payment for an asset.

Some advantages and disadvantages of buying and renting