SINGAPORE, 5 March 2015 - PropertyGuru's latest Property Affordability Sentiment Index results, based on a survey of almost a thousand respondents, showed that the Singapore property market had become more affordable for property buyers.
The Property Affordability Sentiment Index showed that respondents rated the Singapore property market as becoming increasingly affordable, with a score of 168 in the second half of last year - well above the base level of 100. The scores were calculated based on four factors - consumer satisfaction with the property market, property purchase intent of the respondent, perception of property price change, as well as sentiments on government efforts.
"Our survey respondents, which included both Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, show increasing optimism in the market. 43% of respondents intend to purchase a property within the first half of 2015 despite a bearish real estate climate. This figure represents a great improvement in consumer sentiment against the previous years," said Steve Melhuish, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru.
"With the higher purchase intent, this might lead to an increase in transaction volumes in the latter half of 2015. This is derived from insights that there is a strong correlation between property enquiries and transaction volumes, according to our PropertyGuru analytics."
In contrast, purchase intent for overseas properties continued to see a downward trend with the lowest level of purchase intent recorded since 2011 as the local Singaporean market begin to look more attractive. 16% of respondents were interested in purchasing overseas property at the end of 2014. Affordable prices and good capital appreciation were cited as the top reasons to purchase overseas property. Australia overtook incumbent Malaysia as the top destination of choice for overseas property buyers.
The survey revealed the top three factors to consider when buying a residential property was the size of the bedrooms, orientation of the unit, and age of the unit. The top three factors to consider for not buying a residential property was a property's proximity to cemetery grounds, close distance to red light districts, pubs or KTVs and whether it faces a highway or major road.
Two-thirds of respondents were worried about their living situation in their old age. The top three biggest fears were the inability to pay for adequate housing, being forced to downgrade to a smaller property, and relocating to cheaper properties overseas. The results of the findings correspond with the recent Budget 2015 which was aimed at addressing the needs of the elderly and middle-income families in coping with Singapore's rising cost of living.
Additional key findings in the Property Affordability Sentiment Index:
On consumer satisfaction with the property market
- Top reasons - Property still perceived as expensive and overly restrictive government policies dampening buyer interest
On factors about a property affecting a buyer's decision
On government cooling measures
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About PropertyGuru Group
PropertyGuru Group is Asia's leading online property portal group used by more than 10 million property buyers, viewing over 90 million property pages and generating over 400,000 enquiries for real estate developer and agent advertisers - every month - across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The Group has developed and launched 15 mobile applications in four countries and three languages. At the end of 2014, the Group recorded over two million downloaded mobile apps, and won first position in the property category for the "Digital Media of The Year 2014" award organised by Marketing Magazine. Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru was founded in 2006 by two entrepreneurs with a vision to simplify the property search process and help buyers, sellers and investors make better property decisions faster. Taking advantage of Asia's growing affluence, property demand and online explosion, the company is market leader in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, receiving its first VC investment funding in 2008 and secured approximately $60m investment in 2012 from Deutsche Telekom, South East Asia's largest digital investment to date. PropertyGuru was also the first to integrate its website with social media, first to launch Singapore's only dedicated property newspaper - read by more than 100,000 readers island-wide every month - and it has also developed a property events platform, with approximately 30 shows held annually across four countries, addressing 30,000 potential property buyers on the ground.
ABOUT STEVE MELHUISHCo-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Steve is an award-winning entrepreneur. In the last two decades, Steve built profitable companies throughout Asia and Europe. In 2006 along with his partner Jani Rautiainen, founded PropertyGuru. Under the auspice of this newly established brand, PropertyGuru provided a one-stop online shop for the listing and sale of residential and commercial properties to individual and institutional buyers and investors. Prior to Steve's current role, he held executive positions in various venture capital firms including Skype, AOL, Virgin Media, Vodafone, Extreme Media, iPass and Ariadne Capital. Steve's expertise in leading global teams resulted in a US$500 million turnover for a business unit for Cable & Wireless. In 2007, Steve was awarded the Spirit of Enterprise Award in recognition of his contributions to entrepreneurship in Singapore. Steve is a non-executive director for two other firms, an angel investor and member of the Business Angels Network South East Asia.