Demand from overseas buyers is helping to drive the cost of private apartments in Singapore to record highs. The average value of a property now stands at USD 1,935 per square foot for prime areas.
Jones Lang La Salle reports that increased demand from mainland Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian investors has been the primary driver behind the growth. Indeed, buyers from the three countries accounted for at least half the total number of sales in Singapore during the first quarter of 2011.
Buyers from China make up 63 per cent of the purchases for units priced between USD 400,000 to USD 1.2 million.
The head of research for South-East Asia and Singapore at the consultancy, Dr Chua Yang Liang, said that the increase in buyers from China in particular coincided with policy tightening in the country.
"While we do not expect a repeat of what is observed this past quarter, we can expect the number of Chinese buyers to continue at a healthy level as seen in previous quarters as the fiscal and monetary policy in China remains conducive to overseas investment by the wealthier Chinese," he added.