About 20 percent of properties sold in Singapore from 2000 to 2010 were acquired by foreign buyers, with Indians accounting for 12 percent, based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Today, even as the anti-speculative measures announced by the government have had some effect, Indians are still signing along the dotted line. For many Indians, having multiple properties, particularly overseas, is a symbol of status.
With thousands of completed units on the Singapore market, Indian investors are offered many choices.
Christine Sun, Senior Manager of Savills Research & Consultancy, said the percentage of Indian buyers in Singapore has risen since 2008.
“Indian purchasers constituted 3.1 percent of all landed and non-landed private home purchases in 2010. This is higher than the percentage registered for both 2008 (2.9 percent) and 2009 (2.7 percent), showing that their market share has grown in Singapore over the years,” she said.
Many Indian buyers foreigners and PRs are looking for properties priced about S$750 psf, said Png Poh Soon, Associate Director and Head of Consultancy and Research at Knight Frank.
However, others in the industry said many Indian buyers prefer to stay in the prime districts and are willing to spend more money for their purchases.
A spokesperson for SingLand, which develops The Trizon, an upmarket 289-unit condominium in the Mount Sinai area, said, “The Trizon is currently about 73 percent sold (210 units), of which five percent was sold to Indian buyers.”
The majority of the buyers said the location and the size of the apartments were pull factors, she added.
“They felt that it was so close to the city, yet in terms of price, it was good value for money as well. And they also felt that the value of their apartments will appreciate over time,” she said.
Source :PropertyGuru – 14 Feb 2011