Singapore’s luxury properties
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Singapore among top cities for ultra-prime residential property sales in 2022
SINGAPORE ranks among the top markets for ultra-prime residential property transactions in 2022, alongside cities in which the super-wealthy buy homes, such as London and New York, said real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
In Knight Frank’s Wealth Report released on Wednesday (Mar 1), Singapore ranked sixth among the top 10 cities in the high-end activity index, with 18 ultra-prime property sales (transactions valued at more than US$25 million each) and 121 super-prime property sales (valued at more than US$10 million each).
This comes even though transaction volumes of prime homes eased from the most recent high in 2021.
200 people granted Singapore permanent residency under Global Investor Programme in last 3 years
SINGAPORE – About 200 people obtained permanent residency through the Global Investor Programme (GIP) from 2020 to 2022, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling.
She gave the figure on Thursday in response to Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang), who asked how many people have used the programme to qualify for permanent residency in the past three years.
Foreigners can apply to be PRs under the programme if they invest at least $2.5 million into starting or expanding a business here, or into a GIP fund that invests in Singapore-based companies.
District 10 freehold condo offers discounts to offload stock before ABSD deadline
A freehold condominium in Bukit Timah is touting what it calls buyer’s stamp duty (BSD) discounts of up to $110,000 off selected units, in a bid to offload its remaining units before a critical sales deadline.
One promotional advertisement for Royalgreen screamed “Full absorption (100%) of BSD”, while another ad said “Up to $110,000 discount for selected condo units. District 10 freehold from $2,5xx psf only”.
Royalgreen is one of several private residential projects nearing the five year. As the penalty for missing the deadline is hefty, some developers would rather of fload their remaining units at a discount than incur the penalty.
Homing in on luxury condominiums
A POSITIVE story is forming in Singapore’s luxury condominium market. More are buying these upmarket non-landed properties costing at least S$5 million from the Core Central Region (CCR), which encompasses postal districts 9, 10, 11, the Marina Bay and Central Business District, as well as Sentosa Cove.
In 2022, 453 units worth S$3.65 billion changed hands, surpassing the levels in pre-pandemic 2017 to 2019, when the average was 370 units a year worth S$3 billion.
The count in 2022 was below the 10-year high of 545 units transacted in 2021. Then again, in 2021, the market rallied on Singapore’s strong economic rebound, increased confidence following the gradual lifting of Covid-19-related restrictions and a low-interest-rate environment flush with liquidity.
Core Central Region condominiums: long-term repricing potential
The Singapore condo market (including both condominiums and apartments) capped off a robust 2022 with overall prices up by 8.1 per cent year on year, notwithstanding two rounds of cooling measures over the last two years. However, price growth differed across market segments, with condo prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) locking in growth of 9.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent year on year respectively in 2022, while Core Central Region (CCR) prices grew only 4.8 per cent year on year.
The CCR comprises Prime Districts 9, 10, 11, the Downtown Core and Sentosa, and is viewed as a proxy for high-end and luxury homes. The RCR consists of areas within the Central Region, excluding the CCR and includes areas such as Queenstown…
China buyer picks up duplex penthouse at Klimt Cairnhill for nearly S$30 million
THE duplex penthouse unit occupying the top two floors of the 36-storey Klimt Cairnhill luxury condominium is being sold for close to S$30 million, The Business Times understands.
The price works out to nearly S$5,000 per square foot (psf) for the 5,920 square foot freehold unit; the strata area includes about 800 sqft of void that creates a double- volume space in the living area.
Word on the street is that the buyer is from china. The option to purchase is understood to have been granted last week, so the buyer narrowly beat the increase in the buyer’s stamp duty rate for residential properties announced in the budget on Feb 14.
Singapore property market braces for surging Chinese demand, immigration interest
SINGAPORE’S property market is bracing for surging demand from Chinese buyers as the world’s second-largest economy reopens.
Real estate agencies in the city-state have seen more inquiries from mainland Chinese, with industry watcher OrangeTee & Tie noting a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in January since Beijing announced it was ending three years of global isolation. The border reopening has also seen a spike in queries about immigration to Singapore.
“I’m definitely seeing an uptick in interest among Chinese friends interested in moving to Singapore since the border opened,” said Lily Li, who bought a 640 square feet apartment at the end of last year for S$1.3 million including taxes. “I’m getting a ton of calls asking me about our experience, and people seeking advice on how to rent and buy property.”
Disillusioned at home, super-rich mainland Chinese set their sights on Singapore
SINGAPORE – Like many rich Chinese, graduate student Zayn Zhang thinks Singapore could be the ideal place to park his family’s wealth.
He is hoping that studying at a university in the Asian financial hub will lead to permanent residency, and while the 26-year-old hits the books, his wife is out looking for a $5 million to $7 million penthouse.
“Singapore is great. It is stable and offers a lot of investment opportunities,” Mr Zhang told Reuters at a business and philanthropy forum here late last year. His family might establish a Singapore family office to manage its wealth in the future, he added.
Hosting discussions on topics like family wealth and sustainable investing, the forum at Singapore’s Shangri-La hotel was attended by hundreds of wealthy people
Private home prices up 0.4% in Q4 for full-year gain of 8.6%, but future increases expected to slow
IN THE face of a looming global recession, a fresh round of cooling measures, a high-interest-rate environment and lack of launches, private home prices in Singapore inched up 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
This was slightly higher than the 0.2 per cent flash estimate by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) earlier this month, and follows an increase of 3.8 per cent in the previous quarter. It also represents the lowest quarter-on-quarter rise in over two years, since prices grew a marginal 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.
In 2022, prices of private homes went up 8.6 per cent, compared to the 10.6 per cent rise in 2021.
Singapore second most preferred city in Apac for cross-border property investments in 2023: CBRE survey
SINGAPORE is now the second most preferred destination for cross-border real estate investment in the Asia-Pacific, up from third place last year.
It continues to be a focus for core investors due to its strong market fundamentals, CBRE’s latest Asia-Pacific Investor Intentions Survey showed.
Tokyo retained the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City came in third place for the first time, from ninth place in 2022, as its investors adopted an opportunistic strategy.
CBRE expects core investors to focus on Japan, Singapore and Australia this year.
Boulevard 88 unit tops Q4 resale gains; seller reaps S$3.5m profit after 3 years
A 2,799 square foot (sq ft) unit at Boulevard 88 along Orchard Boulevard was sold for S$13.78 million or S$4,924 per square foot (psf) last month, earning the seller a cool S$3.46 million in profit – making it the most profitable transaction by quantum in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The 22nd floor unit at the freehold luxury condo in prime District 10 was bought for S$10.32 million or S$3,688 psf back in July 2019. Based on a holding period of just under three and a half years, the annualised profit works out to 9 per cent.
This nugget came from data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, which studied caveats for non-landed private homes…
More ultra-wealthy families setting up offices in Singapore, and they’re not just coming from Asia
More super-rich families are setting up offices in Singapore to manage their wealth, with the number of such offices nearly doubling from two years ago.
Singapore currently has about 700 family offices, up from 400 in end-2020 and up sevenfold from 2017, according to government estimates.
These families are coming not only from Asia, but also Europe and America. Demand from Asia is particularly prominent though, given that private wealth in the region has grown faster than elsewhere in the world, industry observers said.
“The pandemic has prompted numerous affluent families to reconsider their wealth management and succession plans to better prepare against future uncertainty,” said Bank of Singapore’s head of family office advisory Carrie Ng.
Unsold private housing stock hits 15-year low, likely to help support prices in 2023
THE stock of unsold private housing under construction has been dropping for nine straight quarters to a 15-year low, and is not expected to increase in the new year.
Combined with strong housing demand and high land and construction costs, private housing prices will likely remain elevated in 2023.
Based on data that was compiled for The Business Times by ERA Research and Consultancy, the stock of unsold private housing units has been on the decline from Q2 2020 to Q3 2022 – or a total of two years and three months – to reach 5,320 units.
Government bumps up supply of private homes, office space for H1 2023
IN THE face of resilient private housing demand and tight office supply, the government is bumping up land supply for these two segments in the confirmed list for the first half of 2023.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) will release sites on the confirmed list that can yield about 4,090 private homes (including 700 executive condo or EC units). ECs are a public-private housing hybrid.
This is 16.7 per cent higher than the supply of 3,505 private homes (including 495 EC units) in the current, second-half 2022 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The latest figure is also the highest level since the 4,630 units in the H1 2014 confirmed list.
New money inflows to Singapore jump 15.8% to a record S$448b in 2021
SINGAPORE can absorb record inflows of new money, the central bank chief said, allaying concerns of a real estate bubble even as rents and prices surge to unprecedented highs.
The Asian financial hub attracted S$448 billion last year, 15.8 per cent higher than the previous year, the latest data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) show.
Singapore’s efforts to build an international wealth hub are paying off as the city enjoys a post-Covid resurgence, attracting investors drawn to its stability. Assets managed by local firms soared 16 per cent in 2021 to US$4 trillion, mostly from overseas, exceeding the global growth rate. Investors from US hedge-fund titan Ray Dalio to Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani are setting up offices to manage their personal wealth.
Top of the market: Test of strength ahead
A month ago, a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Coronation Road West was sold for $50.128 million ($2,043 psf). The seller, Danny Yong, chief investment officer and founding partner of private equity firm Dymon Asia Capital, had purchased the property in trust for $36 million ($1,468 psf) last year, according to a property title search. The title transfer took place in early December, according to transfer documents, but the option to purchase is believed to have been signed sometime in the middle of last year.
Yong’s capital gain before taxes and duties is 39.2% based on a holding period estimated at 15 months. Even if the deal is subjected o an 8% seller’s stamp duty (SSD), and a 4% buyer’s stamp duty is factored in, the gain is still well over 27%. That is equivalent to about $9.72 million, or the price of a detached house in Chip Bee Gardens, on Holland Road.
What sets the crazy rich Chinese apart from other family offices in Singapore
ENTREPRENEURIAL, open to ideas, and raring to go – these are among the adjectives that come promptly to the minds of bankers and consultants when asked to describe the super-rich Chinese setting up family offices in Singapore.
Unlike their more-established counterparts from Europe and South-east Asia, the patriarchs and matriarchs from China are typically first or second-generation businesspeople.
A large part of their wealth is tied up with their family businesses, with many driven by economic and political reasons to diversify into Asean.
Singapore has been a popular spot for them to park their wealth. About 44 per cent, or 63 out of 143 new family offices…
Rich Chinese are Biggest Singapore Luxury Condo Buyers
Mainland Chinese buyers have scooped up the biggest number of Singapore’s private apartments this year compared with other foreigners, underscoring the amount of wealth flowing into the city-state from the world’s second biggest economy.
Buyers from China purchased 932 private units in the first eight months of 2022, almost twice the number bought by Malaysians, which came in second, according to a report by industry watcher OrangeTee & Tie. Chinese buyers have been the biggest foreign buyer group since 2016, and took up 6.7% of total transactions this year, almost bouncing back to pre-Covid levels.
Other countries within the top five foreign buyers include India, followed by the US and Indonesia.
Richest man in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia’ pays record price of $5,800 psf for unit at Le Nouvel Ardmore
At the 43-unit Le Nouvel Ardmore, developed by Singapore-listed property company Wing Tai Holdings, two units were sold recently for $5,800 psf, a new high for the luxury condo designed by celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel.
The first transaction at the vaunted price of $5,800 psf took place in late June, when a 3,843 sq ft unit on the 28th floor was sold for an auspicious-sounding $22,288,888. However, no caveat was lodged for this transaction.
The latest edition of Hurun Rich List 2022 published by Hurun Research Institute, ranks Han as the 2,610th richest in China, with a net worth of about RMB2.2 billion ($450 million).
Ultra-rich families racing to park wealth in Singapore under enhanced investment scheme
THE recent tightening of regulations for family offices in Singapore does not seem to have dissuaded wealthy investors, with a growing number anecdotally pursuing this route to permanent residency after the Global Investor Programme (GIP) scheme was expanded in 2020 to include them.
Ultra-high net worth families seeking to move their assets here form the largest category of investors under the enhanced GIP, professional service providers told The Business Times (BT).
Application figures were not available from the Economic Development Board (EDB), which manages the scheme. But the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has disclosed that there were about 400 single…
Non-landed luxury property deals spike in Q2 as Singapore’s borders reopen
ENQUIRIES for luxury properties in Singapore have shot up in tandem with increased visitor arrivals over the second quarter of 2022, leading to a spike in overall volumes transacted.
According to a Huttons report released Thursday (Jul 21), foreign buyers of luxury homes in the latest quarter were mainly from China, Indonesia and the US.
Knight Frank Singapore’s head of office Nicholas Keong separately noted in a Jul 12 statement that the reopening of Singapore’s borders have “heralded a return in foreign interest” for the prime non-landed residential market in Singapore – although a lack of saleable stock in family-sized units continued to limit sales.
Singapore new private home sales more than doubled to 1,356 units in May
Sales last month also hit a 6-month high as monthly figures have been hovering around 600 units since cooling measures were introduced in December last year.
NEW private home sales more than doubled in May on the back of major launches. Developers in Singapore sold 1,356 new homes last month, up 105.5 per cent from April’s 660 units.
Sales last month also hit a 6-month high as monthly figures have been hovering around 600 units since cooling measures were introduced in December last year.
Prices of mass market property launches could hit record high as developers face cost constraints
ELEVATED costs and limited inventory could result in new benchmark prices in the private residential market this year, with the average price of some suburban project launches seen trending close to, or crossing, the S$2,000 per square foot (psf) mark.
Land, construction and materials costs have risen while the number of unsold units have dwindled, especially in the Outside Central Region (OCR) or suburbs. Rising interest rates will also translate to higher financing costs for developers.
Analysts say higher land costs, along with the increased cost of construction and materials, are contributing to cost pressures.
More Singapore developers looking to hike condo launch prices
HOMEBUYERS have to brace themselves for higher prices as about 71 per cent of developers expect unit prices of new launches in the next 6 months to be moderately or substantially higher, the results of a poll revealed.
The Q1 2022 survey showed that another 24 per cent expect new launch prices to maintain at the same price level, while only 5 per cent expect prices to be substantially lower.
That’s according to the latest Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI) published by the National University of Singapore Real Estate, which represents the university’s Department of Real Estate and its Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS).