Although Singapore’s private residential scene was abuzz with foreign investors over the last decade, the slew of measures by the government to cool the red hot property market has chased many away from this group.
According to data published by JLL, there was more than a three-fold increase in the proportion of foreign purchases between 2000 and 2011.
Notably, foreigners only made up 4.1 percent of the market in 2000. But by 2011, the percentage of foreign buying had jumped to a record high of 17.5 percent of all private residential purchases on the island.
In a blog post, June Yang, Assistant Manager of Research for JLL Singapore, implied that the buying spree was boosted by Singapore’s solid position as a global financial hub, rising investment interest and more foreign capital.
However during the 2012 to 2014 period, their activity slipped to six to eight percent because of the higher stamp duty implemented by the government.
Despite the falling interest levels, Yang noted that the base of foreign nationals has widened over the years.
“Today over 50 different nationalities are active in the local property scene, cementing Singapore’s status as a global city with an attractive investment environment in Asia,” said Yang.
Comparatively, in 2000 there were 27 different nationalities with the majority from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
Percentage of foreign buyers in the private residential market has fallen
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
Source: PropertyGuru (11 Sep 2014)