When you first arrive in Singapore (and its dark and you can't see), you will notice lots of cool buildings and restaurants and stuff, but you probably don't say "Where are the houses"? I recommend everyone visiting the area take a train (called the MRT) to the east for a few minutes (Assuming you are downtown), so you can see where people live.
Pictured above is a housing complex, and these things are everywhere (usually in densely populated areas). They are not usually as pretty as this one, but they are approximately the same size and height. Most of the housing in Singapore is built by the government and the residents have to purchase your condo from the government. Let me repeat that... "Purchase the condo". I specifically asked if you can Rent these places, and the answer was "no". When you can prove you have a job, you purchase your condo (heavily subsidized) and then you pay it off as you go. Most of them look suprisingly similar, but there are definately different levels of quality.
From what I've been told, the Singapore government is very encouraging of home ownership. Think of it this way. If you are 20 something, odds are you are going to work for the next 40 years or so. If you rent for 40 years, you won't have anything to show for it, but if you buy a condo when you are 20, you have 30 years to pay it off and then you don't have to be a homeless person when you are older.
You will also notice right away that people usually have clothes hanging outside thier windows... at first It makes the places look Dumpy, but in reality, its 90 degrees out every day and your house is small, probably too small for a dryer, so this makes a lot of sense.
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