Terrace houses

Terrace houses are one of the most expensive and desirable public housing ever built.Built by HDB's predesscor SIT   throughout the 1940s until their dissolution,they were initally marketed for middle-class families,with a rental fee of $50 a month.They come in 3-room (78sqm) and 4-room (?sqm,very rare)vairations.Unlike most HDB units,it is legal to build room extensions,up to a maximum of 260sqm.If you are lucky enough,it is theoratically possible to combine an extended unit to become a semi-bungalow.But painting of your units and major changes to gardens is not allowed.Parking is also an issue,with barely adequate parking spaces.

In recent years these units have become a favourite of upper-class yuppies who cannot afford a private unit.They are not cheap,as non-extended units cost a minimum of $700,000 plus.The extended variants may go up to $1 million plus.

The cheaper alternative
A much cheaper alternative to these terrace houses is a ground-floor executive maisonette,prefably from a walk-up block.They are much more common and cheaper,and allow you to annex some spots for gardening.However,you cannot expand these units,but their 140sqm plus size is quite big,and does not matter to most buyers.

Avalibility
Extremely rare,with less than 300 units surviving.Most were demolished as early as the 1970s for much more space efficient high-rise blocks.They are found in Jalan Bahagia (28 blocks,200 units) and Stirling road (13 blocks,84 units).