Hong Kong investors take advantage of a correction in Singapore’s property prices

Singapore’s property prices have continued to fall since the last quarter of 2018, declining 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year.

But market observers expect property prices to recover and rise by 5 per cent in the second half.

Hong Kong investors are renewing their interest in Singapore, betting property prices will recover in the second half of this year, according to property consultants.

Just 29 homes were sold to Hong Kong buyers in 2018, some 42 per cent fewer than the previous year, after the Singaporean government introduced cooling measures to curb foreign buying demand.

The Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for foreign buyers was increased to 20 per cent from 15 per cent in July last year, while the loan-to-value limit was reduced by five percentage points for all housing loans.

Individual borrowers’ loan limit on first housing loans was reduced to 75 per cent from 80 per cent, dropping to 45 per cent from 50 per cent for a second loan.

“We expect by the end of the second quarter of this year, property prices in Singapore will increase by 5 per cent, mainly due to an increase in prices of new developments and collective “en bloc” property sales,” said Terence Law, senior principal project director at Centaline Property Agency.

Ref: Property Report