[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong reported on the 6th that wealthy Chinese are fervently purchasing apartments and luxury condos in Singapore.
SCMP cited a report from OrangeT&T, stating that from January to August this year, Chinese buyers purchased 932 housing units in Singapore, which is double the amount bought by Malaysians, the second-largest purchasing group. Since 2016, wealthy Chinese have become the largest purchasing group locally in Singapore, accounting for 6.7% of all transactions this year. This marks a recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The top five countries following China include Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, the United States, and Indonesia.
Wealthy Chinese also ranked first in purchasing luxury condos priced above 5 million Singapore dollars (approximately 4.941 billion KRW). During the same period, they acquired 81 units, about 20% of the total sales volume. The second place was held by Americans, who purchased 34 units, less than half of the Chinese buyers.
As real estate prices surged, Singapore strengthened real estate regulations last December by raising stamp duties on second-home buyers and foreigners purchasing private properties. However, SCMP reported that these measures failed to dampen the investment enthusiasm. The OrangeT&T report viewed these market stabilization efforts as having little impact on wealthy foreigners.
Amid ongoing inflation in the Asian financial hub caused by global supply chain disruptions and labor market deterioration, Singapore is expected to implement its fifth tightening monetary policy this month. The central bank plans to announce the next semiannual monetary policy statement by the 14th at the latest.
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