Sunday, October 16, 2011

Singapore Colonial Houses


Singapore has a very unique housing type, known as black and whites here. These houses were known as colonial-era houses of Singapore and built by British from late 19th century to before World World II to house high ranking members of colonial society. They are usually 2 story buildings with the main living area in the second story (one story away from creatures of the tropics such as snakes). They are designed with Western elements to blend into hot and humid tropical environment of Singapore.[1]

Today 70 per cent of these historical houses are owned by government and rented out to foreigners. Many large ones are also housing businesses such as restaurants and offices. There are currently around 500 of them available for rental. They are great rentals for people who would like a remote rural living environment in the middle of a very dense city but not good for those who would have problem with the snakes, bats and other creatures of Singapore's nature.


Singapore Black and Whites (Colonial Houses)
A large Singapore colonial house - Source : www.duchessfare.com
Black and Whites are not known to be cheap rentals since their rental cost would be somewhere between 6,000 SGD to 20,000 SGD per month. But according to The Straits Times, their rent can be surprisingly affordable:

"Leasing in the Seletar's Piccadilly Circus neighborhood range from $6,000 to $7,000 a month. Normal landed homes of a similar size can cost up to $20,000 a month.

Last month, a black and white bungalow in Seletar with a land area of 2,260 sq ft was leased for $3,571 or $1.58 per square foot per month".

Of course the main reason for these prices are remoteness. In central areas the price range goes as high as 20,000 SGD per month.

As we have mentioned these are state properties and if you are looking for a state property to rent like black and whites you should visit the site of Singapore State Property Information Site. Here there is an updated list of Singapore State properties for rent both for residential and non-residential use.

[1] - Architecture: Singapore's Black & White Houses

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