{"id":121377,"date":"2021-08-11T05:36:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T22:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/ultra-rich-driving-property-frenzy-in-singapore\/"},"modified":"2021-08-11T18:05:22","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T11:05:22","slug":"ultra-rich-driving-property-frenzy-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/ultra-rich-driving-property-frenzy-in-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultra-rich driving property frenzy in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nUltra-rich driving property frenzy in SingaporeS$32.9 billion worth of luxury properties transacted during the first half of 2021 alone, marking it as the biggest property frenzy Singapore has seen in over 10 years.
\nIn search of a safe harbour to park their wealth, tycoons have been stuffing cash into Singapore\u2019s luxury properties, causing a property frenzy.
\nA local tech billionaire, for instance, spent ~S$129 million for a mansion in an exclusive neighbourhood shaded with rain trees, while a Taiwanese family with a grocery empire acquired all the units within a condominium project for ~S$293 million, reported Bloomberg.
\nSingapore\u2019s red-hot residential market saw homebuyers spending S$32.9 billion during the first half of 2021 alone \u2013 making it the city-state\u2019s biggest frenzy in over 10 years and twice the value registered in Manhattan over the same period.
\nWith this, home prices in Singapore jumped by a record 4.1% in H1 2021 as the ultra-rich shift their funds from economies adversely affected by the pandemic or, in Hong Kong\u2019s case, by political turmoil.
\nThe boom in Singapore is evocative of 2007, when \u201cwell-heeled foreigners were lured by the glamour promised by two upcoming resorts and casinos,\u201d said Nicholas Mak, APAC Realty\u2019s Head of Research and Consultancy, as quoted by Bloomberg. The flurry was tamed by property curbs and the global financial crisis.
\n\u201cThe difference now is that there are more newly minted ultra-rich people, especially from China and India,\u201d he said.
\nBloomberg said the launch of Park Nova, Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings\u2019 first residential project, was not only a showcase of its 54 luxury apartments. It also displayed buyers\u2019 wealth as Ferraris, and Rolls-Royce Cullinan flocked to the site, which was 10 minutes by foot from the city-state\u2019s famous shopping belt Orchard Road.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve never seen so many luxurious cars at one point,\u201d said PropNex Realty\u2019s Head of Luxury Team Dominic Lee. \u201cIf you drove a BMW that day, you\u2019d feel depressed,\u201d he added as quoted by Bloomberg.
\nAll three penthouses were sold, with prices going up to S$34.4 million. \u201cFor rich people, such prices aren\u2019t a concern. If it\u2019s a good buy, they would want it,\u201d Lee said, noting that the buyers were both foreign and local.
\nMeanwhile, transactions at Sentosa Cove \u2013 where massive waterfront houses boast private berths for yachts \u2013 tripled to S$190.7 million in H1 2021 over the same period last year, showed data from List Sotheby\u2019s International Realty.
\nLewis Cha, Executive Director at Sotheby\u2019s International Realty, said the neighbourhood, which was the only area in Singapore where foreigners can acquire luxury bungalows, also saw prices increase 7% in 2020, mainly driven by interest from China.
\n\u201cSome of the buyers decided to move out of their rental apartments for a more permanent home while others decided that Singapore is a safe haven to park their funds,\u201d said Cha as quoted by Bloomberg.
\nAnd much like London, another factor luring ultra-rich foreign buyers to Singapore is privacy.
\nBuyers hide their true identities from the public and the government by using trusts. Banks, for instance, can be registered as the legal owner of a property on behalf of the person. This makes it hard for property developers to screen potential buyers for money laundering risks.
\nIn responding to Bloomberg\u2019s query, an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spokesperson said Singapore is reviewing current laws to strengthen requirements for property developers further to guard against money laundering activities in the sale and purchase of uncompleted private properties.
\nThe spike in property prices has fuelled speculation that authorities may roll out property cooling measures, which last happened in 2018. However, the central bank\u2019s statement that the property market was not overheated allayed these concerns.
\nBut with more people looking to upgrade to private from public housing, the authorities have good reason to remain vigilant.
\nIn June, the Monetary Authority of Singapore\u2019s Managing Director Ravi Menon said a prolonged divergence between income and prices is undesirable and unsustainable.
\n\u201cIf unresolved, this could lead to questions of a greater inequality gap and what the government is looking to do to reduce this,\u201d said Nydia Ngiow, the Singapore-based senior director at strategic policy advisory firm BowerGroupAsia, as quoted by Bloomberg.
\nLooking ahead, the housing frenzy in Singapore is expected to continue, barring any market shocks like property curbs.
\n\u201cThe market appears to be going on a Poseidon Adventure, sailing into a tsunami,\u201d said Alan Cheong, Executive Director of Research at Savills.
\n\u201cThe tsunami turns out to be the liquidity that is keeping the market afloat\u2026 Hence, rather than capsizing, the party could continue,\u201d he added as quoted by Bloomberg.
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\nCheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email:\u00a0cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.\u00a0
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…Ultra-rich driving property frenzy in Singapore<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ultra-rich driving property frenzy in SingaporeS$32.9 billion worth of luxury properties transacted during the first...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121378,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/singapore-marina.jpg?fit=820%2C411&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-vzH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":122448,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/lee-hsien-yangs-caldecott-hill-bungalow-on-sale-for-16-8mil\/","url_meta":{"origin":121377,"position":0},"title":"Lee Hsien Yang\u2019s Caldecott Hill bungalow on sale for $16.8mil","date":"October 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The 9,888 sq ft two-storey detached house\u00a0is located in the Caldecott Hill GCB area. 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(Photo: Savills Singapore) Minbu Villa, a 10-storey freehold residential development in Novena, has been launched for collective sale, said marketing agent Savills on Wednesday (14 Mar). The reserve price of $145.8 million works out to a land rate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":109702,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/ultra-rich-foreigners-turn-to-singapore-luxury-homes\/","url_meta":{"origin":121377,"position":3},"title":"Ultra-rich foreigners turn to Singapore luxury homes","date":"August 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Luxury residential brokerage firm Sotheby\u2019s International expects foreign ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) investors to drive sales activity within Singapore\u2019s luxury residential segment. This comes as the geopolitical tensions in the UK and Hong Kong are enhancing the attractiveness of luxury homes within the city-state, reported Singapore Business Review. British billionaire James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":77830,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/makeway-view-joins-collective-sale-frenzy-with-168mil-tag\/","url_meta":{"origin":121377,"position":4},"title":"Makeway View joins collective sale frenzy with $168mil tag","date":"January 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Singapore\u2019s collective sale market continues to heat up with the recent launch of Makeway View, a freehold residential development in Newton. Featuring 28 apartments and four penthouses, the 10-storey development carries an asking price of $168 million. 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