The city state’s problems pale beside those in other Asia-Pacific markets facing supply shortages that drive up prices and rents
3-MIN READ3-MINNicholas SpiroPublished: 4:30pm, 13 Apr 2026Singapore is at the sharp end of the energy crisis. Imported natural gas accounts for an estimated 95 per cent of the city state’s electricity generation. According to Nomura, Singapore is the fourth most vulnerable Asian economy to the energy shock emanating from the war in Iran, based on a set of criteria that includes the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption and the proportion of energy imports from the Gulf.Last month, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the unprecedented disruption to energy flows was, “in a sense, an Asian crisis”. On April 7, the government announced a package of measures worth S$1 billion (US$783.7 million) to help support the economy, including an increase in a cost-of-living payment for eligible Singaporeans and a one-off payment to taxi drivers to help offset the rise in fuel costs.Yet a cursory glance at the city state’s housing market shows that one of Asia’s best-performing residential real estate sectors continues to show remarkable resilience. Prices for private properties and second-hand flats built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Singapore’s public housing authority, rose in annualised terms in the first quarter of this year.AdvertisementHowever, industry experts and commentators have drawn attention to the quarterly contraction in the HDB resale price index. The gauge experienced its first decline on a quarterly basis in nearly seven years, falling 0.1 per cent last quarter.
