This is a very long way from how the West does things, but I've got to say that it works exceedingly well there.
(Disclaimer: not an endorsement of All Things Singapore.)
You can sell it and prices are somewhat market driven but with complicated taxes and limitations to prevent speculation (flipping). It's affordable because, as public housing, there are numerous subsidies, incentives, etc that the government provides to make the initial down payment and subsequent installments as easy as possible.
it still exists, and you avoid it by claiming to be a relative visiting. Just make sure you don't bring large amounts of luggage thru the front lobby, or make a nuisance in the building.
Besides, Singapore is a nation where you probably don't want to break any laws a foreigner. Abetting fraud often is a punishable offence, and you might just become part of a crack-down on illegal subletting to set an example.
That is not an argument for implementing it at home.
The purpose of a coop is to be able to choose your neighbors in the building.
The reasons for doing so could be indefensible, like keeping out blacks and Jews, or they could be things like ensuring the financial health of the building, blocking people who will engage in endless construction, or avoiding drama by excluding celebrities that draw paparazzi.
In short all flats/apartments are cooperatives, but still profit occurs when they're bought and sold. The structure and profit/loss are unrelated.
(I suspect I'm going to find out a lot more about this stuff soon, as I own a studio which is due for some pipe-work .. Joy!)
You most definitely are! At least in New York City. There tends to be a flip tax, but that is just a mechanism of funding the corporation, and it's not the reason prices are lower. (Prices are lower because coops tend to be much less flexible about renting. Many forbid it entirely, and those that allow it will have limits like at most two years out of every five. That basically means there's a class of buyer -- real estate investors -- who have no use for coop units. Lower demand at a fixed level of supply leads to lower price.)
But that can take the form of 90% of any increase over the purchase price if you sell within the first five years, which effectively removes any economic reason to purchase for short term speculation.
This is basically the argument for buying into a co-op rather than buying an apartment. You aren't allowed to flip them for a profit, which means they're less expensive because you're giving up optionality. (At least when they actually are implemented as originally intended.)
To me this makes a ton of sense, because there are a lot of benefits to home ownership for both the individual and society, but real estate generally isn't a good place to put investible dollars unless you're super wealthy and just want some (relatively) predictable income from renters.
What we really need though is public housing for the middle class and upper middle class, rather than just for low-income families. Right now public housing is basically just a scam to transfer money from the middle class to the super wealthy by using money from the middle class to subsidize labor at below a living wage, when in reality everyone needs a house so it's a textbook example of a market where there should be a public option.