Singapore's luxury home sales fall 50% on-year in Q1, foreign buyers down 98%

sales of luxury homes have fallen by 50% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2023 such homes mostly apartments are those worth at least 5 million Singapore dollars foreigners buying these homes have dropped by 99% around this time last year property taxes for them to own a home here doubled in a move to stabilize the market Rebecca Mato with more buying luxury homes is one thing foreigners are shying away from in the first 3 months of this year only one Foreigner bought such a property over the same period in 2023 they made up the bulk of the transactions picking up 52 units last year the government doubled the additional buyer stt Duty for foreigners buying a home here to some 60% that means for a $5 million home say in the city Center they'll have to pay about $3 million in taxes this analysts say has dampened their interest in buying luxury homes in Singapore we still see foreign buyers buying today though a lot less than pre absd rate hype uh these uh predominantly are the ultra high net worth and the high net worth uh foreign buyers they actually prefer Singapore's uh real estate market primarily because of the S uh uh they they look at it as a safe investment singaporeans now form the largest group of people owning these luxury homes an agent who specializes in such sales told CNA that 80% of the inquiries now come from locals more than half go on to sign on the dotted line singaporeans are buying home in Singapore for various reason including the desire for home ownership upgrading long-term investment for Capital gains uh rental or as a status symbol and um you we also notice that some parents buy properties to build as a legacy to pass on for their children as for the property Market as a whole one market Watcher says prices are still Rising but at a slower rate he has that the additional buyer stt Duty or absd is here to stay if any uh possible change I think there will be probably further tightening of this years with especially on the second uh home buyers especially for the investor I think for foreign buyers we already seen the number have come down I think for local investor I think we continue to see active uh investment demand for for this Market which colony hold up these prices real estate firms say private home prices could increase by up to 6% this year that's lower than 10.6% growth about 3 years ago

Channel: CNA

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Keywords: CNA, Channel NewsAsia

Id: 6fwEIS6B0Kw

Length: 3min 3sec (183 seconds)

Published: Mon May 06 2024