Singapore housing prices are in no way "reasonable". There is a large public housing component (80%), but those have also been increasing in price compared to median income, and decreasing in size. For the private market, average prices are now 15x the median yearly salary. [0]
Singapore is facing the same issue every other locality is with housing prices: prices have no fundamentals any more and are just inflating upwards out of reach from the median buyer. One can compensate slightly with smaller homes, but that has an impact on fertility rates and other quality of life indicators.
If you look at the private condo market (you can’t look at public as the prices are subsidized), it’s not unusual for condos to cost >$2,000 per sq ft in desirable locations. A 750 sq ft 2 bed condo can run $1.5 to $2.0M.
San Francisco is closer to $1,500 per sq ft for a house in a prime location.
I was trying to get an idea of what Japanese house prices are, but I couldn't find much beyond the cost of a new house. Which is less than in the US, but not by much more than 10-20%. I understand houses in Japan don't typically appreciate in value like they do in the US though. They like to buy new and don't see it as an investment.
I assume a huge factor has to simply be that Japan's GDP and population growth has been basically flat for ~25 years.
I don't know a lot about Japans housing market, but I've read plenty times that houses are not built to last in Japan which probably has something to do with the low housing prices.
yes and this is on purpose. This is also partly because the safety standard is ever-evolving due to the precarious nature of Japan. Thus, updating house to the latest safety standard would cost more than just flat it over and rebuild a new one.
That's why, the most expensive part is the land and not the building itself.
Look at the real estate market in Singapore or Tokyo where housing prices are more reasonable