Despite overall satisfaction with HDB living remaining high, the latest HDB Sample Household Survey 2023–2024 shows that residents are less happy in 13 out of 17 areas of their physical living environment compared with 2018. The sharpest dips were in estate maintenance, privacy within flats, and variety of flat types offered.

What residents are less satisfied with

The survey, which polled around 7,000 households and over 1,600 single occupiers islandwide, found declines in satisfaction for key areas such as:

• Noise levels – satisfaction down to about 74%, with many citing neighbour noise and traffic.
• Cleanliness – satisfaction fell to around 76.4%, with complaints about littering and hoarding in common areas.
• Maintenance of housing estate – the largest drop, down nearly 7 percentage points to about 85.5%.
• Privacy within flats – down more than 6 percentage points from 2018 levels.
• Size of flat, estate spaciousness and views – more residents feel flats and estates are getting tighter and more built-up.

Why satisfaction may be falling

Experts point to several possible factors:

• More time at home due to hybrid or remote work, making residents more sensitive to noise and cleanliness.
• Higher expectations as HDB estates become more modern and better equipped, raising the benchmark for comfort.
• Behavioural issues such as inconsiderate noise, littering and clutter in common areas.
• Denser urban environment with newer blocks and smaller flat sizes amplifying the sense of crowding and reduced privacy.

Where satisfaction rose or stayed strong

Not all the news is negative. Satisfaction actually increased in four areas:

• Purchase price / rental rate of flats – up by about 7.4 percentage points to nearly 89%.
• Safety from traffic within the estate.
• Safety measures within the precinct.
• Carpark provision.

Overall satisfaction with HDB homes and estates still generally sits above 90%, showing that residents remain broadly positive even as they voice sharper concerns over everyday irritants.

What this means for HDB towns and future planning

The survey signals that the next phase of public housing planning must go beyond building quality and basic amenities to focus on:

• Quieter designs and better acoustic treatment between units.
• More effective estate maintenance and enforcement against littering and hoarding.
• Designing for privacy even in high-density environments.
• Civic education to build stronger neighbourliness and shared responsibility for common spaces.

For buyers and sellers, these findings also highlight which pain points may influence future flat desirability, pricing and upgrade choices.