52 units at Cairnhill Nine were sold to foreigners, said DTZ. (Photo: CapitaLand)
Despite the increased market uncertainty, foreign buyers bought more private homes in the first quarter of this year compared to the last three months of 2015, revealed a DTZ report.
Purchases by foreigners increased by 5.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to 236 units, while those by permanent residents (PRs) rose by 2.6 percent to 591 units.
In contrast, the number of private units sold to Singaporeans dropped by 18.2 percent in Q1.
Interestingly, foreigners purchased more properties priced above $1.5 million during the quarter.
PRs bought 46 homes priced between $2 million and $3 million, up from 37 in Q4 2015, while foreigners purchased 40 homes within that price range, up from 19 previously.
Kingsford Hillview Peak and Cairnhill Nine emerged as the two preferred projects among foreign buyers.
Cairnhill Nine in the Orchard Road district saw foreigners snap up 52 units, while 27 were sold to PRs. Over at Kingsford Hillview Peak near Hillview MRT station, PRs acquired 28 units while 10 were sold to foreigners.
DTZ noted that while transaction activity among Malaysian, Indian and Chinese nationals declined by 15 to 20 percent, the number of homes sold to Indonesians increased by 12.5 percent to 72 units.
Meanwhile, Chinese and Malaysian purchases continued to form around 42.4 percent of total foreign purchases in Q1.
Overall, 2,830 homes were sold in Q1 2016, up 27.4 percent from the 2,220 units sold during the same period last year.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
