Find out the most recent foreign buyer profile in Singapore’s residential market

The Americans overtook the Chinese in terms of foreign residential demand.

According to a recent report by EDMUND TIE, the number of homes sold to foreigners in Singapore declined by 13.4% from 292 units in Q2 2022 to 253 units in Q3 2022. 

Nonetheless, in terms of proportion, the share of homes sold to foreigners remained broadly stable at 4.7% in Q3 2022 as compared to 4.8% in the previous quarter, amid rising interest rates and ongoing macroeconomics headwinds.

Here’s more from EDMUND TIE:

The share of foreign demand rose in the two market segments, RCR and OCR, from Q2 2022 to Q3 2022, with 4.4% to 4.7% and 1.4% to 2.0% respectively. Amid rising prices, foreign investors are casting their nets wider to include more affordable properties located in the fringe and suburban locations. Foreign demand share in the CCR, on the other hand, fell from 12.2% to 11.4% from Q2 2022 to Q3 2022.

On the other hand, the Americans overtook the Mainland Chinese in Q3 2022, for the third consecutive quarter, taking the top spot in foreign demand in both CCR and RCR, accounting for about a fifth of the transactions by foreigners in each segment. The Mainland Chinese overtook the Americans in Q3 2022 to take the top spot in foreign demand in the OCR, accounting for about a third of the transactions in the segment. The resilience of the Singapore property market has buoyed Mainland Chinese investors’ confidence and interest in Singapore as a safe haven. It appears that they are now taking a stronger interest in the more affordable segment of the market.

Unit size

In the non-landed primary market, the sweet spot in Q3 2022 by unit size was for units between 700 and 1,000 sq ft at 36% share, up from 27% in the previous quarter, driven by new project launches such as Lentor Modern, AMO Residence and Sky Eden@Bedok.

The share of new non-landed units priced $1.5 to $2 million rose from 29% in Q2 2022 to 36% Q3 2022. These transactions were mainly from projects such as Lentor Modern, AMO Residence, Sky Eden@Bedok, Hyll on Holland and Leedon Green. For instance, 44% of the sales transactions in Lentor Modern were priced at $1.5 to $2 mn.