More Singaporean buyers are looking to acquire properties Down Under following the introduction of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) and volatile stock market.
According to property consultancy Savills, the number of Singaporeans snapping up properties in Australian cities climbed 25 percent in the past few months, with buying interest particularly strong in Sydney due to its robust property market.
“People are coming into Sydney looking for homes closer to the city,” said Iwan Sunito (pictured), Chief Executive of property developer Crown Group.
“Many of them plan to send their kids to schools there. To illustrate, 469,000 international students come into Australia every year, and about 235,000 of them end up in Sydney.”
The city is also driven by strong fundamentals like a stable political environment and world-class amenities. Its strong banking support is an additional attraction which allows buyers to borrow up to 90 percent of the property’s value.
Sydney is also a favourable investment destination due to a growing housing shortage, which has resulted in escalating home prices over the years. Sunito said Sydney was the only major Australian city where prices kept edging up during the global economic crisis.
He added that one of the main reasons for shortage of housing is the slowdown in building activity by smaller developers and the shift in preference among locals that has also driven up home prices in the city.
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