More foreigners turn their backs on S'pore luxury property
The proportion of more expensive private homes priced above the $2 million mark purchased by the top four groups of non-Singaporean buyers fell to 13 percent in H1 2014 compared to 21 percent in the six months before, said DTZ. According to the report, the top groups of non-Singaporeans buying up property here consist of Malaysians, mainland Chinese, Indonesians and Indians. On the other hand, the share of Singaporeans in this price bracket held firm at 16 percent between H2 2013 and H1 2014. The impact of the ABSD and TDSR framework is stronger for the non-Singaporean buyer groups, clipping their purchasing power, as a larger proportion of their purchases have shifted towards units with smaller price quantum, DTZ noted. In the first six months of 2014, the proportion of private home purchases below $1 million by the top four non-Singaporean buyer groups was at 46 percent (636 units), higher than the 34 percent reported in H2 2013.
Malaysians led the search for more affordable homes in the city-state. For this group, the proportion of transactions below $1 million jumped by 17 percent between H2 2013 and H1 2014. At the same time, the share of units transacted above $1 million fell significantly. Meanwhile, Indonesian buyers saw their share of private home purchases below $1 million climb 14 percent on a half yearly basis to 31 percent in H1 2014, while the share of private home purchases above $2 million decreased from 37 percent to 20 percent during the period. Despite the drop, the proportion of private home purchases above $2 million in the first half of 2014 was still the highest amongst Indonesian buyers compared to the Indians (17%), Chinese (17%) and Malaysians (6%). Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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