Singapore’s Property Market Outlook Still Optimistic

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Due to the improvement of the office market, investing in Singapore’s properties are getting more and more popular amongst potential buyers and investors. Singapore was ranked 2nd as the favorite city among 22 cities in the Asia-Pacific region.
 
According to the 2019 Asia Pacific real estate market emerging trend report, Singapore’s real estate investment outlook index for the next year scored 5.88 points (5.67 points last year), Melbourne at 5.89 points; Sydney at 5.87 points, Tokyo at 5.86 points and Osaka scored 5.70 points. 
 
The rentals in Singapore’s office sector have been increasing due to a lack of new supply and a recovery in demand. Survey also showed that even though the property cooling measures have been implemented for several years, the residential market in Singapore continues to be resilient and is still attractive to potential buyers as well as investors. In the meantime, the stable economic growth and high tourism rate helps support the rental yield of retail space in the prime district of Singapore.
 
“Singapore’s economy has always been stable, which makes it more attractive for expats to plan their long-term stay here. Since foreigners are able to buy a condominium here in Singapore and given the stable rental yields, the recent years development of luxury residential projects located in the Central part of Singapore have managed to draw the attention of investors. With the flexible payment schemes, it is especially suitable for investors.” says Mr. David Hui, General Manager of Centaline Property Group.
 
“The Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) was raised for more than four months since July, but the local property market has not fluctuated too much, and the overall political and economic conditions are rather stable,” he added.
 
The prime districts are still well-loved by foreign buyers. Marina One and Martin Modern are among the top five condominiums that are most popular within foreign buyers. In terms of nationality, buyers from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India still account for a large number of property transactions in Singapore. Among all private home buyers, foreign buyers account for 6%.
 
 Image Source:https://www.archdaily.com/791046/ingenhoven-architects-marina-one-tops-out-in-singapore
 
Image Source:https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/new-project-launch/reviews/martin-modern-review-174321
 
In addition, buyers’ stable demand for luxury homes that are over 3 million is an indication that Singapore is still the top choice for high net worth individuals and wealthy foreign buyers to invest in Singapore’s properties. Although foreign buyers pay up to 20% of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), some may feel that local luxury homes are relatively cheaper than Hong Kong, thus, they still choose to buy luxury homes here in Singapore. 
 
Another reason could be that foreign buyers are worried about the trade war and their national currency depreciation; hence they choose to invest in local luxury homes.
 
Image Source:http://theindependent.sg/private-property-prices-to-rise-between-5-7-says-research-firm/
 
Some market trends in the overall Asia Pacific market include; Logistics facilities continuing to be sought-after in property investments; Shared living space will be highly considered for future living, as cities become more populated and housing costs rise, more developers are looking into the idea of shared living space to allow for more units. As for transaction volume, 569 units were transacted in the 3rd quarter under the category of “high-end luxury homes”, a decrease of 40.5% from the 2nd quarter. 
 
However, for luxury homes price ranging from 3 million and above, there was an increase in transactions from 173 units to 187 units in the past four years.