More and more foreign buyers are engaging in the property market of Singapore. Their number has dramatically shot up during the second quarter, but according to some property experts, they are not quite in the league of the high-spending ones seen during the boom of 2007.
At that time, high-spenders flocked to the country in droves, setting records highs and making high-end prices go even higher. Aside from the funds and individuals, foreign companies are also involved in the action.
Jones Lang LaSalle, a consultancy firm, recently conducted a study and found out that foreign buyers recorded 1,662 caveats in this year’s second quarter alone. It was a significant increase from the 489 caveats of the first quarter.
The sales figure has been the highest quarterly mark since the 2,444 caveats lodged in the third quarter of 2007.
This year, the proportion of foreign investors to corporate buyers and Singaporeans has increased from 17 percent in the first quarter to 22 percent in the second quarter.
During the 2007 boom, the percentage reached approximately 30 percent.
Dr Chua Yang Liang, the head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Southeast Asia Research, said that foreign investors are starting to come back since property prices have corrected and the worst part of the financial crisis appears to be over.
Dr Chua also said, "The price correction following the Lehman collapse last year has brought average resale values of non-landed prime properties in Singapore down 31 per cent from the peak. As long as prices remain stable and do not increase too drastically, foreign buying interests can be expected to continue.”
There are more foreigners who have purchased properties with prices ranging from $1.5 million to $5 million from April to June as compared to the first quarter in which foreigners have purchased homes with prices ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.
However, the number of buyers of properties, which cost $5 million and above, is noted to have moderately increased.
Malaysians compose the largest fraction of foreign buyers in Singapore. The country has also attracted a large number of Indonesians, and recently, Chinese and Indians.
Phylicia Ang, the director of the Savills Residential noted, “We are seeing more foreign buyers from around the region, but not so much yet from the rest of the world”
Market experts agree that once the signs of recovery become more prominent, more and more foreign investors will be flocking to the country.