Leong Boon Hoe, Chief Operating Officer of List Sotheby’s International Realty, Singapore.
Capitalising on Singapore’s financial hub status and the rise in affluent individuals in the region, Sotheby’s International has opened an office here targeting ultra-wealthy clients.
The move comes as luxury properties in the city-state remain an attractive proposition for foreign investors, with prices falling around 10 percent since the market peak in Q1 2013. The rate of decline has slowed down significantly in 2016 compared with other segments, potentially indicating a bottoming-out effect.
Calling the positioning of List Sotheby’s International Realty, Singapore as the Southeast Asia headquarters “timely”, Leong Boon Hoe, Chief Operating Officer of the local branch, noted that ultra-high net worth investors remain underserved by qualified salespersons with both local and regional market knowledge.
“More than ever, global uncertainties are driving astute investors to redirect and rebalance their investments. Residential properties will remain a key part of the ultra-high net worth investors’ portfolio, and Singapore’s luxury residential sector is primed for recovery when such interests return. We are well positioned to ride on this new wave of growth,” he said.
With the Sotheby’s brand name being synonymous with prestige and discernment, “this gives us access and insights to ultra-high net worth clients of the world. And because of our reach, properties listed exclusively with us will be exposed to all our affiliate offices and their clients globally, which creates a very strong marketing proposition to these same clients”, noted Leong.
Aside from the Singapore office, List Sotheby’s International Realty has two other offices in Hawaii, one in the Philippines and nine in Japan. The group plans to open another List Sotheby’s International Realty office in Bangkok by 2018.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
