Housing stress higher in Philippines than Singapore, Hong Kong, survey shows

MANILA: While cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong have a reputation for having high living costs, especially when it comes to property prices, a survey from Gallup shows that residents of other cities across Asia are actually struggling more to afford housing. 

In the Gallup World Poll 2025, participants were asked about their housing-related financial difficulties over the past 12 months. The Philippines had the highest number of people who reported financial stress when it comes to affording housing, with 55% of Filipinos saying they struggled to afford housing, the highest percentage across the globe.

Sri Lanka (54%) followed as a close second. In Myanmar, the figure is at 49%, and in Thailand, it’s 40%.

In contrast, the Gallup survey shows that in Singapore, between 10 and 15% of respondents said they struggled to pay for housing over the past 12 months, which is more or less at par with the median for OECD economies, which is at 11%.

In Hong Kong, meanwhile, where 40% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with affordable housing availability, the actual figure of people who struggled to pay for housing is among the lowest in the survey.

Financial stress

To be clear, the Gallup survey deals directly with people’s struggles to afford housing, and not with actual property or rent prices, which residents of Singapore and Hong Kong are more likely to face.

Filipinos are facing financial stress in large part due to relatively low incomes in comparison to housing costs, which means that rent or home prices can consume a large portion of income. For example, according to the Urban Land Institute, a real estate research firm based in Hong Kong, a quality flat in Manila can cost as much as 20 times the median household income. Rentals, meanwhile, can cost more than US$1,000 (S$1,271), 166% of the median monthly household income. 

A study from 2025 showed that in some households, as much as 50% or more of income went toward housing, whereas in Singapore, where incomes are substantially higher, it’s more common for households to cap their housing expense, such as for mortgages, at 30%.

Additionally, Singapore’s public housing system under the Housing & Development Board covers 80% of its population, in comparison to the Philippines’ weak social housing system. Additionally, a report from the Philippine Resource Center for Inclusive Development from last June showed that even socialised housing is unaffordable for the poor. /TISG

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