The impact on overseas property investments from the recent loan-to-ratio cap introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) appears mixed.
Last weekend, PropertyGuru’s Malaysia Property Showcase, held at Marina Bay Sands, attracted more than 2,000 attendees who were keen to discover property investment opportunities from around Malaysia.
Elsewhere, overseas property buyers and investors appeared to be generally few and far between.
Johnny Chng, Head of International Projects for OrangeTee, whose agency was selling Yarra House in South Yarra, Melbourne, told PropertyGuru that a slowdown in the frenetic numbers of Singaporeans buying overseas will be a good thing in the long term as it will discourage people from investing in something they really cannot afford.
He said: “We’re still seeing sales from genuine buyers who are able to afford to invest overseas, although the numbers are down from a few months ago.”
Doris Tan, Director of International Project Sales for Jones Lang LaSalle, was in agreement with Chng. Her agency was selling Lime Quay, a Telford Home project from the East of London in Singapore last weekend.
She told PropertyGuru: “There’s not been a sudden drop but it has been quieter than normal. We had a great run during the first half of the year but whereas a client might have expectations to sell 40 units over a weekend we have to moderate these expectations to 20.”
Mark Parker, Managing Director for Telford Homes, told PropertyGuru that he was pleased with the levels of sales in Singapore.
He said: This weekend’s event in Singapore has been a bit quieter than the sales event we held last week in Hong Kong, but we’ve sill sold 11 units (as of 2pm, Sunday) and expect more from follow-up leads after the event.”
Despite the relatively quiet time last weekend, Parker still intends to bring units from his successful Stratford Plaza development to Singapore later this year.
Image: More than 2,000 attendees visited PropertyGuru’s Malaysia Property Show at Marina Bay Sands over the weekend.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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