Number of luxury condos bought by Chinese up 158% in Q1

SINGAPORE: Wealthy Chinese appear to be on a buying spree in Singapore, snapping up far more luxury dwellings in the first quarter of this year compared to the same time last year.

A report from OrangeTee & Tie Pte shows that Chinese buyers bought 159 non-landed, luxury homes in the first quarter of this year, as opposed to only 71 units at the same time in 2022.

As for luxury condominium units, buyers from China purchased 111 units, an increase of 158 per cent year on year.

In April, the government implemented a third round of measures in an effort to cool the property market.

Stamp duties for foreign buyers have doubled and are now at 60 per cent. The Government has said this should “moderate investment demand,” which is still expected to increase.

But a Bloomberg report recently quoted a senior vice president at OrangeTee, Ms Christine Sun, as saying that they may not make too much difference for wealthy buyers.

Ms Sun said, “The cooling measures may not affect buyers’ perception of Singapore as one of the best places for property investment.

Some high-net-worth individuals may continue to park their wealth here as luxury properties are pricey in many other cities.”

The Bloomberg report added that home sales in April rose to a seven-month high, increasing by 80 per cent from March with the launch of a number of housing projects.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons Asia Pte, said that foreigners bought 70 units, the highest number since May of last year.

He added that the majority of these properties are worth between S$2 million to S$5 million.

Mr Lee said that geopolitical tensions may be the reason why more home units were purchased by foreigners, as property in Singapore is seen as a safe-haven asset, Bloomberg added.

 /TISG

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