PropertyGuru survey reveals majority not satisfied with housing affordability

Survey results show the additional stamp duty could not have come at a better time

Singapore, 23 December 2011 -  The majority of home buyers in Singapore should be satisfied with the introduction of the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD), if the results of a recent PropertyGuru real estate affordability sentiment survey are anything to go by.

Carried out in collaboration with Blackbox Research, a market research firm in Singapore, the survey findings show that property seekers and investors are generally not satisfied with property affordability. 49% of respondents believe that properties in all categories in Singapore are expensive and only 29% perceive it to be affordable.

PropertyGuru's latest sentiment survey, which featured over 1,737 respondents, also found that 60% of respondents disagree that the government is doing enough to keep prices affordable, an increase of 3% from the previous survey done in June 2011. Conducted prior to the implementation of the new measures, the results show that the stamp duty hike could not have come at a better time to cool the market.

Meanwhile, more local property investors are being tempted to invest overseas with 19% saying they would consider it compared to 14% in the last survey. Malaysia was the top overseas destination with 32% followed by Australia (24%) and New Zealand and the Philippines (both 9%). In view of the latest measures, PropertyGuru expects this figure to rise over the next six months as many local and foreign investors adopt a more cautious view of the Singapore property market.

Highlights of the PropertyGuru Affordability Sentiment Survey

-      Majority of respondents (49%) feel that property in all categories in Singapore is expensive compared to 29% who are satisfied with current property prices.

-      60% of respondents are of the view that the government is not doing enough to keep property prices in Singapore at affordable levels, an increase of 3 percentage points from the last survey in June.

-      Half of those surveyed (1 in 2) are dissatisfied with property prices and feel rising prices are affecting sentiment among first time home buyers.

-      Malaysia (32%) tops the most popular foreign country for property investments followed by Australia (24%) and New Zealand and the Philippines (both 9%).

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Media Contact:

Ms Winnie Khoo, Chief Marketing Officer

Contact number: +65 6238 5971

Email: winnie@propertyguru.com.sg

About PropertyGuru Group:

PropertyGuru was founded in 2006 as a self-funded company, with a vision to make the property search process a breeze for buyers, sellers and investors. Taking advantage of Asia's growing affluence for property and the online boom, it received its first VC investment funding in 2008. Since then, the company has grown rapidly, reaping profits and positive cash flow in 2009 and tripling its revenue growth in 2010.

PropertyGuru is now Asia's leading online property portal, with a presence in 10 countries, including offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and partnerships with leading property websites in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, China and Macau. It has almost 7 million buyers viewing approximately 60 million property pages monthly, with a growing database of 350,000 opted-in buyers and over 19,000 real estate agents.

PropertyGuru provides an integrated media platform that real estate developers and agencies can use to promote their brands and generate sales leads. The entire PropertyGuru community boasts 370,000 residential and commercial properties and clients include almost 500 prominent developers from Asia, Europe and the Americas, as well as over 19,000 real estate agents in Asia.

PropertyGuru has also won multiple awards, including the Overseas Property Professional "Best Online Media (Gold) Award 2011" and "Best Online Service (Silver) Award 2011", Red Herring "Top 100 Asia Technology Award 2011", Hitwise "No.1 Website in the Property Industry" award, the Singapore IT Federation (SITF) award for "Best Mobile Application (Merit) 2011" and "E-Enterprise Company 2010", the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA) award for "Best Performing VC Backed Company 2010", Marketing Magazine's "Top Digital Media of the Year 2010" award, CNBC World's "Best Property Portal Award 2009" and the "Google Zeitgeist Singapore 9th Fastest Rising Search Term 2009" award.