Home purchases by foreigners up
Private home purchases in Singapore fell to just over 2,000 units in Q1 2014, the first time in more than five years that it dropped below 3,000 units, media reports said.
However, foreigners' share of home purchases moved up as the share of Singaporean buyers declined significantly.
Notably, Singaporeans accounted for 70 percent of the 2,076 private homes transacted in the first quarter, or its lowest level since the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) was introduced in Q4 2011.
In absolute terms, purchases by foreign buyers and permanent residents (PRs) were also at their lowest levels since Q1 2009.
DTZ's analysis of URA Realis caveats data as at 15 April showed that private home purchases by Singaporeans decreased from 73 percent in Q4 and Q1 2013 to 70 percent in Q1 2014.
Meanwhile, home purchases by PRs jumped to a record 19 percent, or its highest level since Q1 1995 – the earliest date of the URA Realis caveats database, from 16 percent in Q4 2013 and 17 percent in Q1 2013.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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