Singapore HDB database

HDB Database is an original compilation “Made by Teoalida” which took over 500 hours of work. Collecting data from multiple sources, I manually entered data in one Excel table for all HDB blocks ever built in Singapore, indicating block number, street address, postal code, GPS coordinates, construction year, lease commence date, number of floors, number of units breakdown by flat type, upgrading programmes, brochures and floor plans.

From the main table, I created additional tables analyzing number of HDB residential blocks, MSCP, pavilions and miscellaneous buildings, number of units breakdown by flat type, etc, by HDB town, phase of development and building era. Watch video to see the completeness and quality of work!

The database been used by several companies, including home insurance, telecommunication, door-to-door services, real estate portals, flyer distributors, as well as many people who did not told me what business field they are in. Regular citizens who want to view data about a couple of HDB blocks, can click blocks one by one HDB Interactive Map free of charge.

About HDB Database

I started HDB database voluntarily in 2009, for purpose of researching housing density in selected estates and use the results in designing own apartment models. Being done without any specific target, I changed my mind numerous times and the database was MESS, initially having each town on a separate sheet, with different structure depending by the date I compiled. I abandoned project in 2011 after completing 40% of Singapore because it required too much effort for a non-paid job.

I published a sample on my website for first time in 2012 to get feedback from potential customers, and in 2014 I resumed working to complete remaining towns and harmonize data structure in a single sheet for whole Singapore, to offer as PAID service for professional use. I published final database in May 2015, after spending about 500 hours of work, estimating 10 sales/year, the effort would have been paid off in 5 years.

Following customer requests, I expanded database with additional columns: postal codes in June 2015, unit numbers in 2016, town council and electoral GRC / SMC in 2017. In August-September 2018 I spent additional 100 hours to count floors in Google Streetview… just to see in November that data.gov.sg offer “HDB Property Information” free of charge, including number of floors and number of units by flat type (but only for completed blocks).

Compared with data offered for free by government, my database include also demolished and under construction blocks, plus additional information such as postal code, unit numbers, BTO names, etc, however for most people, the free data sufficient, and my sales dropped.

Number of units is available for 10,757 blocks that were existing at least as 2010, including under construction blocks launched until November 2019 BTO. Total: 1,166,857 units, averaging 108 units per block. Every year, new blocks are completed while others are demolished, keeping this figure up-to-date is difficult. 1,063,250 dwelling units are in use as 31 March 2019 according HDB Annual Report.

Since 2018 HDB started publishing property information, year built and number of units for FREE download. While my own-compiled database contains additional info such as postal codes, upgrading programmes. brochures and floor plans, it seems that most people are interested only in number of units, very few are willing to pay for my additional info.

Most customers who previously purchased my database in 2015-2018 have not renewed their subscription, as 2020 I no longer have any customer demanding 3-month updates. I continue to add new BTO blocks in database every BTO launch, for purpose of displaying information for free consulting on HDB Map, but I will no longer post new HDB Database in Excel format for paid download unless someone purchase it and/or ask for an update.

Data fields included and their source

• Block numbers: complete for all HDB blocks ever built.
• Street address: complete except some of HDB blocks demolished before 2000.
• Postal codes: complete for all residential HDB blocks standing as 2015 (including under construction).
• Project name: complete for all HDB blocks that have a name (BTO blocks and old blocks that received precint name at upgrading.

Source: www.onemap.sg for current buildings, hm.onemap.sg or National Archive photos for demolished buildings. Block numbers 40% done in 2009-2010, remaining 60% done in June 2014. Street address sourced from Enquire status of upgrading programmes and later HDB Map Services, 30% done in 2010, remaining 70% done in December 2014. Postal code sourced from HDB Centralized Map. Personally not interested in postal codes, but in July 2014 a customer suggested adding them, a 2nd customer asked for postal codes in May 2015, so in June 2015 I added them. HDB Centralized Map added info boxes for under construction blocks in late 2016, allowing me to add in my database too at January 2017 update.

• Town / Estate: complete for all Singapore. Town is official zoning while Estate is my personal classification by 175 phases of construction.
• Project code & unit numbers: available for 4452 of 16197 total buildings, or 3887 of 4112 buildings built in BTO era.

Source: site plans from BTO and SBF brochures, added in 2016 at request from one customer. I know how useful would be to have the unit number ranges for every block, but this is NOT POSSIBLE. Hong Kong does have hk.centamap.com showing unit number and position. When Singapore is going to have the same? Going from block to block to check mailboxes and get unit numbers, takes more than a man’s lifetime.

In 2021 an agent spent few hours browsing SRX and added unit numbers for all blocks in Woodlands, I wanted to do the same for other towns, but SRX make this info available only for agents. Maybe if an agent share with me his login credentials?

• Town Council and Electoral division (GRC / SMC): complete for all HDB blocks ever built.

Source: www.onemap.sg. I added Town Council in May 2017 at request from one customer, and electoral division in September 2017 at request from another customer.

• GPS coordinates, latitude / longitude: complete for residential buildings.

A customer suggested me to add GPS coordinates in 2013, but writing coordinates manually was taking too much effort. Thank you to Renata who bought database in 2015, made a script to add coordinates from Google Maps API, but some were off. In 2017 I met Sik Shu Wei who made a script to extract coordinates from HDB Centralized Map and I integrated them into my database using VLOOKUP.

• Building type: complete for all HDB buildings.
• Building era: complete for all HDB buildings.

Some customers want to purchase a subset with recently build blocks. Filtering by lease commence date would have been difficult, because U/C blocks or under MOP do not have a lease date. Building era is based on major changes in HDB design, such as introduction of centralized refuse chutes and lifts stopping at every floor in 1991, household shelters in 1997, BTO scheme in 2004.

Consequently, I categorized myself the HDB buildings by type (in November 2014) and by 6 eras (in May 2016). I further improved building eras in September 2017 when I made Map of HDB blocks colored by year built, and as 2022 I re-categorized by 10 eras.

• Building year: available for all buildings standing as 2018.

Source: CSV file provided by HDB since 2018. For some older buildings, I was able to get construction year from HDB Press Releases about SERS blocks or old newspapers seen at National Archive.

• Demolition year: complete for all 1566 demolished buildings.

Source: estimation using old Street Directories (1984, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998) or Google Earth satellite imagery (after 2000).

• Lease commence date: complete for all residential blocks available on resale market (not available for blocks within MOP or rental blocks).

30% done in 2010 and remaining 70% completed in December 2014, source: HDB Resale Flat Prices, year only. Since 2015 I added month and day beside year, sourcing from HDB Centralized Map. In 2017 I added year-month-day lease commence date for all blocks (thank you Sik Shu Wei for providing me a script to extract data from HDB Centralized Map).

• Estimated completion date: complete for blocks under construction or under MOP.

Source: BTO brochures. When blocks fulfill MOP I replace estimated completion date with lease date. Update frequency: when new BTO are launched.

• Number of units (text form) & upgrading programmes: complete for residential buildings standing as 2010.

Source: Enquire status of upgrading programmes for blocks completed as 2015 (25% done in 2010, remaining 75% ON HOLD waiting for a customer paying me…. been paid in May 2015 and completed in June 2015.

A customer suggested to make separate column for each upgrading programme (MUP, IUP, LUP, HIP, NRP, SLRP) and indicate announcement date and billing date. Re-compiling upgrading programmes information will take a large amount of time so I am waiting to see if there are other customers interested.

• Number of units breakdown by flat type in separate columns: complete for all residential buildings.

Idea used since 2011 for List of BTO projects. In 2014 I planned to use idea for HDB Blocks Database too, and did the job for SAMPLE file that included Jurong West, while for rest of towns I done in June 2015, time when I added also breakdown by flat type of number of units at the time block was completed, beside current figure sourced from Enquire status of upgrading programmes. (number of units is VARYING over time due to adjoined flats).

Since 2016 I add number of units as soon new BTO are launched, source: site plans from BTO / SERS / SBF brochures.

• Number of floors, units per floor, estimated number of units: complete for 95% residential buildings.

40% done in 2009 I estimated number of floors for about 40% of blocks, by measuring shadow length in Google Earth (error margin +/- 1-2 floors). Once Google Streetview was launched in Singapore in December 2009, I accurately counted floors for 20% of blocks during 2010.

Exact number of units became available in HDB enquire status of upgrading programmes in 2010, I no longer needed to multiply floors with units per floor, consequently in 2014 I decided to add remaining towns and complete the HDB database without number of floors. In 2015 a customer (Renata, see her comment) offered me a BONUS of $400 to complete number of floors for remaining 40% of blocks, but after doing half of job she told me to STOP THE JOB because her boss don’t want to pay.

Virtual Singapore, a very detailed 3D map, was announced in 2015 to be ready in 2017. In August 2017 it was announced that will be ready in July 2018. Virtual Singapore would have helped me counting floors easier and accurately than in Google Street View. In mid-2018 another announcement said that map will be ready in 2018 for government agencies while public access will be few years later.

Meantime Google Earth launched in August 2018 its own 3D map for central Singapore, expanding it to North and West over next months. Even if not whole Singapore is available in 3D, I got personally interested to count floors, I used Google Street View where 3D map was not available, and by September 2018 I finished counting floors of 95% of HDB blocks, correcting all errors at blocks where I previously estimated height from shadow length.

• Block model by Teoalida: I invented myself a naming system for purpose of displaying floor plans in /singapore/hdbfloorplans/

Added since 2009, I renamed block names over time and currently harmonized them for most common HDB blocks. In case of old SIT blocks with many distinctive models, building descriptions are a bit messy.

• Individual unit floor plans: available for 90% of blocks built up to 1997, 60% for 1997-2004 and 40% for 2004-present available on resale market.
• BTO launch brochures: available for BTO projects launched in 2010-2014.
• BTO full brochures: available for BTO projects launched after 2012.
• SERS full brochures: available for SERS replacement blocks announced after 2008.

Added since September 2017.

• SERS prediction by Teoalida: I personally indicated whenever blocks can get SERS or not, only (some of) pre-1980 blocks may be selected for redevelopment. There are 13 different pieces on text under SERS prediction.

Anything else to add? Your ideas are welcome!

HDB units database

Several people told me that require a database with 1 row for each unit instead of 1 row per building, for mailing. In theory I can create such database based on BTO brochures, but will take so much time and inability to do older blocks will results in an incomplete database that will hardly get sales to cover my effort.

In 2016 a property website wanted to hire me to expand their database, and sent me HDB units database.csv (111 units from block 24 Tanglin Halt Road, don’t ask for other blocks because this sample CSV all what they sent me).

I heard afterwards that SingPost sell such unit numbers database for $10,000 and I assume that above property website has bought from SingPost. I do not know if $10,000 database include only HDB or also private housing, commercial and industrial units, etc. If anyone buy from SingPost, I appreciate if can share with me (I can pay a part of this price) so I can modify database to appear made by me and give it to other people needing the same.

That property website wanted my research service to add columns with number of bedrooms, bathrooms and floor area in sqm. While I can tell the flat type of any unit, by viewing HDB block in Google Streetview, I do not know position within block of each unit stack, would require going to block to block and see unit numbers map, overall the job would take a man’s life and is highly prone to mistakes and lack of accuracy, because:

In case of BTO blocks, while 4-room flat size is stated in brochure to be 90 sqm, there are stacks in which is 91-92 sqm. Same stack may have some floors with balconies (adding 2-3 sqm) and other floors not.

In case of old blocks some flat owners bought recess space while others not. Some <3-room flats have been adjoined.