A study conducted in 2010 by the Research Division at IMH found that one in 50 people in Singapore will display hoarding behaviours.
However, experts say the problem is under-reported here. Cases rarely come to light unless the situation is so severe that the spillover either affects family members or neighbours or the home becomes a serious fire and health hazard.
Of the 800 cases the IMH's Mobile Crisis Team has been activated to handle in the past three years, only 15 are related to hoarding issues.
Similarly, at the HDB, the number of complaints about hoarding is low. According to an HDB spokesman, it received 35 and 30 cases in 2014 and last year, respectively, of feedback on hoarding in HDB flats. From January to June this year, it received 16 cases of such feedback.
But the low numbers may not be a true reflection of the hoarding situation in Singapore because hoarding can also occur within private properties, which are not under the purview of the HDB.
A lot of hoarding also takes place in a home, which means neighbours may be unaware of the issue until belongings spill out into a common corridor or they have to deal with resultant pest infestations.
Moreover, it takes hoarders time to accumulate an amount big enough to be a problem. Until then, their hoarding tendencies may remain unknown to others. This is often also why many severe cases of hoarding involve the elderly - their tendency to hoard may worsen as the years pass.
Still, thanks to the efforts of various agencies in Singapore, including referrals from medical social workers and senior activity centres, it seems more cases are coming to light.
At Habitat for Humanity Singapore, which runs the decade-old Project HomeWorks to improve the living conditions of the elderly, the sick and the disabled in one- and two-room rental flats across the island, at least two or three cases of hoarding are dealt with every month.
Clinical psychologists in private practice such as Ms Agnes Teo of Think Psychological Services have also noticed a rise in the number of clients referred to them for hoarding over the past three years.
Treating underlying mental illnesses such as schizophrenia with medication can sometimes reduce hoarding behaviours.
Psychotherapy - specifically cognitive behavioural therapy - is also increasingly recognised to be an effective way to treat hoarding behaviours. It involves talking to a trained therapist to examine the root of problems and dealing with troublesome habits such as hoarding.
According to Mr Yong Teck Meng, national director of Habitat for Humanity, the hoarding problem is an uphill battle that requires long- term concerted efforts on the part of agencies to rehabilitate hoarders.
Volunteers at his organisation are trained to clean out the homes of hoarders. Often, these jobs are completed only after three or four visits.
"In most cases, the hoarders get very agitated when they see their stuff being taken away, even if these are oranges from Chinese New Year two years ago," he says.
"Helping to clear their home therefore is a long-term process, which requires not only distracting them when the home is being cleaned, but also keeping in contact with them to ensure they do not bring back all the clutter to their home."