Sales of private homes in the second quarter rose to 8,458 deals, up 21.6 percent from 6,958 in Q1, according to the latest DTZ report.
Buyers from mainland China comprised the largest portion of non-Singaporean home buyers for the second quarter, snapping up 640 units in Q2 from 527 units in the previous quarter.
The total percentage of private homes acquired by foreigners remained at the record high of 16 percent in Q2, unchanged from the first quarter and representing the highest quarterly ratio since Q1 1995.
“The bulk of private residential purchases by foreigners continued to be in the high-end market segment,” said Chua Chor Hoon, Head of Southeast Asia research at DTZ.
Of the total private home acquisitions by foreigners, 43.3 percent were valued at S$1.5 million or more.
Meanwhile, DTZ revealed that the proportion of buyers with HDB addresses have been rising over the past three quarters.
Such buyers acquired 38.7 percent of all private homes in the second quarter, an increase from 37 percent in Q1.
Moving forward, market analysts believe that concerns over debt problems in Europe and the US, as well as the slowing economy, have resulted in more cautious sentiment in the private home market.
“We expect developers and buyers alike to remain cautious for the remainder of H2 2011 and sales volume to soften going forward,” said Eli Lee, an analyst from OCBC Investment Research.
Purchase demand for private homes in Singapore is supported by economic growth and the low-interest rate environment, Chua added.
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