Asians, excluding Indonesians, were among the top foreign buyers of private homes in 2009. They mainly purchased units with prices ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, while most Western buyers (US, Australians and UK citizens) picked up homes mostly in the $1.5 to 5 million price range.
Indonesians and Western buyers were in the same category, with the $1.5-5 million price range being their most preferred price band. In fact, 47 percent of the 1,219 caveats for private homes lodged by Indonesians in 2009 belonged to this band, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s analysis of URA Realis caveats.
On the other hand, mainland Chinese, Malaysians, Indians, Burmese and Koreans were more likely to have purchased private homes in the $500,000 to $1 million price range last year.
Ong Choon Fah, Consulting Executive Director of DTZ, contends that Indonesians are likely to buy a property in Singapore as a home away from home, as a safe place to keep their wealth in a nearby country and often as a residence for their children studying here. For this reason, they are prepared to invest more for a property in Singapore.
Generally, though, Mrs. Ong suggests that Asians may reserve smaller budgets for their property investments in Singapore because they also compare property prices here with that of their home markets.
Chua Yang Liang, JLL’s South-east Asia Research Head, believes that while there is no apparent difference in the preferred location (district) between Asian and Western foreign homebuyers, there is a more prominent difference in terms of their price range.
Around 41 Indonesians, 18 British Virgin Islanders, 28 Malaysians, and 16 UK citizens each purchased properties costing more than $5 million each in Singapore last year.
Dr. Chua reckons that foreign buyers will remain active in the local property scene this year, as the regional economies improve.