The background: In June this year, property consultancy firm Knight Frank and The Edge Property released a property market survey. 500 people responded to the survey, and these are what they say:
1 in 2 Want To Buy A Private Home
Out of the 500 respondent, 217 respondents, which equals 43%, are on the lookout to purchase a private home in Singapore. Out of these 217 people, 59% currently live in an HDB flat, while another 21% already own more than one property. 199 of these 217 respondents want to purchase a condominium or apartment.
Interior Designer: Voila
Location: Villa Marina
Will Pay $1m - $1.5m For A Condo
Only 42% of 199 respondents are willing to pay the price of between $1m and $1.5m, even though their household income was between $16,000 and $20,000 per month. Another 28% are only willing to fork out $500,000 to $1 million for a condo.
Interior Designer: Icon Interior Design
Location: Sanctuary Green
90% Still Believes In Property Investment
Despite the current sky-high property prices, a vast majority of respondents believe that a Singapore residential property makes a good investment. In fact, 90% of respondents who currently own one or more properties in Singapore believe that they can still make a quick buck by renting or flipping properties.
Interior Designer: Hall Interiors
Location: The Montana At River Valley
13% Feels Negative
Only a minority, or 13% of respondents, were less optimistic about buying properties as investments. They were mostly concerned about the large supply of homes, which would dampen rental yields. The market has seen an abundance supply of new residential properties which outstrips the population growth in recent years. This trend is likely to continue over the next few years, says Knight Frank.
Interior Designer: 82
Location: Foresque Residences
4 In 10 Condo Buyers Are Foreigners
According to Knight Frank, foreigners are still lapping up Singapore properties. Numbers show that foreigners make up at least 40% of the caveats (legal documents that register their interest to purchase) lodged at premium projects like Aardmore Three, Cairnhill Nine and OUE Twin Peaks, Lakeville and Symphony Suites.
Interior Designer: i-Bridge Interiors
Location: Austville Residences
No Plans To Buy Till 2018
The current frail economy, job uncertainties and the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD), has made local homeowners hesitate. Among the 217 respondents, only 51, or 24%, are likely to purchase their dream home before next June. 49%, or 107 respondents, say they may wait for two years. The rest, 27% or 59 of them, will put that plan on hold till two years later.
Interior Designer: Imposed Design
Location: Nova 48
Property Prices Expected To Fall Next 12 Months
Half of the 217 respondents believes prices will continue to fall over the next 12 months. Many of them believes that Singapore’s economy will worsen in 2016, as compared to 2015. 6 out of 10 respondents believe that things will only start to look up in 2018.
Interior Designer: Ciseern
Location: The Minton
Take Advantage Of The Weak Economy
Among the 51 respondents who are ready to buy a private home by next June, almost 7 in 10 of them believe that there are good property investment opportunities to be uncovered in this period. So if you want to strike gold with property investment, you should probably start looking.
Interior Designer: Fuse Concept
Homebuyers are confident in our property market due to our long-standing attributes: Singapore is a safe haven for asset investments, her government’s proactive strategies to advance real estate development and the stable Singapore dollar all combine to strengthen investor confidence in the property market. – Knight Frank
This article was rewritten from The Edge Property pullout, Issue 740 (Aug 8, 2016) of The Edge Singapore. To read the full article, click here.
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