Foreigners make up 30% of non-landed subsale buyers

The Business Times

(SINGAPORE) Foreigners including permanent residents bought 325 private apartments/condos on the subsale market last year, a sharp rise from the 131 units they bought in 2005.

The 325 subsale units foreigners bought last year gave them a 30 per cent share of the 1,075 non-landed homes purchased in the subsale market in 2006. This is higher than a 25 per cent share in the preceding year and the highest level since 1995, according to the latest analysis of caveats by property consultancy DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

Property market watchers say the knowledge that there's a big enough pool of foreign buyers willing to pick up a home in the subsale market is a key factor fuelling the confidence of property speculators.

DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah sees the rising prominence of foreign buyers in the subsale market as a reflection of Singapore's rise as a global city. 'Singapore has so much to offer as a package that foreigners still see good value from buying units in highly sought-after projects on the subsale market - even if prices are higher than developers' launch prices for the projects,' she said. 'And these foreigners seem to be buying for investment (rental income) or for their own use - not to flip.'

Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow said: 'If a foreigner wants a certain development and it's sold out, he may have no choice but to buy it in the subsale market. Most of these foreigners are probably looking to stay in the unit.'

Another seasoned agent reckons that speculators - that is, those who aim to sell units in the subsale market shortly after buying them - are predominantly Singaporeans, although there are some foreigners including PRs as well. 'You have to be based here, or have a very good network in Singapore, to make sure you don't miss out on the previews,' he said.

Subsales refer to secondary market deals (that is, properties not bought directly from developers) in projects that have yet to receive Certificate of Statutory Completion. The certificate is typically issued about a year after a project receives Temporary Occupation Permit. Sub-sales are often seen as an indication of the level of speculative activity in the property market.

DTZ's analysis was based on caveats data captured by Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system, which allows an analysis of nationalities of buyers in the subsale market, but not of the sellers, many of whom will be speculators. Foreigners' 30 per cent share last year among those who bought units in the subsale market is the highest since 1995. In that year, foreign buyers accounted for 32 per cent, or 961 of the total 3,033 condos/apartments purchased in the subsale market.

Although the number of subsale apartments/condos bought by Singaporeans also increased from 391 in 2005 to 686 last year, their percentage share has declined from 74 per cent to 64 per cent over the same period, reflecting the growing foreigner share.

Indonesians were the biggest group of foreigners who bought non-landed private homes in the subsale market in 2006, followed by Malaysians. Others included UK nationals, Indians, mainland Chinese, Koreans and US citizens.

The Sail @ Marina Bay drew the most foreign buyers in the subsale market last year (41 units). Others include The Coast and Oceanfront (both on Sentosa Cove), The Imperial and Botanic on Lloyd.

While there was a spike in the number of subsale private apartments/condos bought by foreigners last year, the 325 units they picked up in the subsale market formed only 7 per cent of the total 4,739 apartments/condos bought by foreigners last year.

This is an increase from a 4 per cent share in the previous year, but in line with the overall 6 per cent share of subsale deals for overall condo/apartment transactions covering all nationalities in Singapore last year. The number of subsales for condos/apartments in Singapore in Q4 last year was 533, an 85% jump from the preceding quarter and more than double the 208 subsale caveats for non-landed private homes lodged in Q4 2005.

» Who's buying from speculators?

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