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Thread: Foreigners' share of home purchases creeping up

  1. #1
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    Default Foreigners' share of home purchases creeping up

    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...eping-20140423

    Published April 23, 2014

    Foreigners' share of home purchases creeping up

    However, absolute number of transactions is lowest since Q1 2009

    By Kalpana Rashiwala

    [email protected] @KalpanaBT


    [SINGAPORE] Private home purchases fell across the board in the first three months of this year to just over 2,000 units - the first time in more than five years that the number has dropped below 3,000 homes. However, foreigners' share of transactions edged up because of a sharper pullback by Singaporean buyers.

    Singaporeans' share - at 70 per cent - is at its lowest since the introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) in Q4 2011. In absolute terms, purchases by permanent residents (PRs) and foreign buyers were also at their lowest levels since the Q1 2009 market trough during the global financial crisis.

    Based on DTZ's caveats analysis of URA Realis data as at April 15, Singaporean buyers accounted for 70 per cent of the 2,076 private homes that changed hands in Q1 this year, down from the 73 per cent share in both Q4 and Q1 last year.

    PRs saw their share increase to a record 19 per cent - the highest level since Q1 1995, the earliest date that the URA Realis caveats database goes back to - from 16 per cent in Q4 2013 and 17 per cent in Q1 2013.

    Market watchers linked the rise to the rule change in late-August 2013 requiring new PRs to wait three years before they can buy an HDB resale flat, prompting those who need immediate accommodation to turn to the private housing market.

    Foreigners' share too has been creeping back up, touching 10 per cent for the first quarter. Although this is still low compared to the pre-ABSD proportion of 19 per cent, this was higher than the 9 per cent in Q4 2013.

    DTZ South-east Asia chief operating officer Ong Choon Fah said that given the high home ownership rate among Singaporeans, "there is no real push factor for them to buy right now".

    "They can afford to time the market. With signs now that the market is softening, more Singaporeans are taking a wait-and-see attitude."

    Lee Lay Keng, DTZ's regional head (SEA) research, noted that the combination of the ABSD measures and last June's total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework had led to a sharper pullback in buying activity by Singaporeans in the first quarter amid expectations that prices could fall further given that the government has said it is not yet time to remove any cooling measures.

    Despite the slowly rising share of foreign buying, market watchers are not expecting the authorities to come up with fresh cooling measures given the weaker property market sentiment.

    Ms Lee said while the 42 and 47 per cent quarter-on-quarter declines in Q1 purchases by PRs and foreigners respectively were smaller than the 54 per cent slide in Singaporean purchases, the 401 units and 203 units that PRs and foreigners acquired here in January-March were at their lowest levels since Q1 2009. In that quarter, the figures were 325 and 175 units respectively.

    The 1,453 private homes that Singaporeans bought in Q1 this year was the lowest since the 1,402 units in Q4 2008.

    For all three groups, the number of units bought in Q1 was also down significantly from the year-ago period. In Q1 2013, Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners snapped up 4,494, 1,029 and 622 units respectively.

    Giving a breakdown of the combined PR and foreign buying pool by nationalities, DTZ said that mainland Chinese, Malaysians, Indonesians and Indians continued to be the top four groups. Together, they accounted for 81 per cent of all private home purchases by non-Singaporean buyers, similar to Q4 2013.

    Purchases by all four nationalities saw quarter-on-quarter declines, with Indonesians posting the biggest drop of 52 per cent to only 72 units in Q1. This was the first time since Q1 2009 that their purchases dipped below 100 units.

    In all, 2,076 private homes were transacted in Q1, nearly half the 4,312 units in the previous quarter and one-third the Q1 2013 volume of 6,175 homes. The latest figure marks the first time the number has slipped below 3,000 units since Q4 2008, when 1,787 private home changed hands.

    Century 21 Singapore CEO Ku Swee Yong is cautious about the outlook for private residential transactions for the rest of the year. "The general mood among real estate investors in most markets is just not there. For Singapore, I'm cautious till at least end-2014. If we see another three to four quarters of subdued transaction volumes and price declines, the Singapore authorities may lift some of the cooling measures. That could bring back buyers."

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    As expected. .. the tdsr ratio has more impact on locals as they have more commitments like credit car, car, hdb etc... indirectly the foreigners will benefit from these measures n lower prices. ..

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    Quote Originally Posted by smallant View Post
    As expected. .. the tdsr ratio has more impact on locals as they have more commitments like credit car, car, hdb etc... indirectly the foreigners will benefit from these measures n lower prices. ..
    Thats why some say its time to unwind the cooling measures.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Maxim1 View Post
    Thats why some say its time to unwind the cooling measures.
    If anything they should implement a new CM for the foreigners. TDSR helped strengthen the local market.

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    Should encourage foreign to buy more, they are just buying a space in the air.

    At the moment, our policy will be, condominium, private sector. They want to buy, let them buy because they actually bring in money for Singapore. They may not actually stay there but they bring in money.

    "They buy from locals, locals are happy to get the money but it's not actually adding to space. In fact, that's actually ideal. They buy here, they don't drive cars, they don't live here, we just get their money! They're buying air!" laughed SM Goh.’

    http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.fr/2...on-on-rar.html

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arcachon View Post
    Should encourage foreign to buy more, they are just buying a space in the air.

    At the moment, our policy will be, condominium, private sector. They want to buy, let them buy because they actually bring in money for Singapore. They may not actually stay there but they bring in money.

    "They buy from locals, locals are happy to get the money but it's not actually adding to space. In fact, that's actually ideal. They buy here, they don't drive cars, they don't live here, we just get their money! They're buying air!" laughed SM Goh.’

    http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.fr/2...on-on-rar.html
    Nowadays trickier than last time. What if they buy here and rent out to other expats, and cause prices to continue to rise? But the investment is good. We will be well protected as the world has more stakes in us.
    The three laws of Kelonguni:

    Where there is kelong, there is guni.
    No kelong no guni.
    More kelong = more guni.

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    Default Not so well protected if foreigners rent from non locals

    Quote Originally Posted by Kelonguni View Post
    Nowadays trickier than last time. What if they buy here and rent out to other expats, and cause prices to continue to rise? But the investment is good.

    We will be well protected as the world has more stakes in us.
    If foreigners choose to rent only from non locals because of various reasons... then locals look to who for tenants ?

    Foreigners buy better locations, bigger units, etc

    Thus if foreigners buy more and more, " well protected ? ?????

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    Quote Originally Posted by Heng View Post
    If foreigners choose to rent only from non locals because of various reasons... then locals look to who for tenants ?

    Foreigners buy better locations, bigger units, etc

    Thus if foreigners buy more and more, " well protected ? ?????
    I agree regarding non protection financially. It was my point actually.

    The protection I meant is for strategic and political arenas.
    The three laws of Kelonguni:

    Where there is kelong, there is guni.
    No kelong no guni.
    More kelong = more guni.

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    teddybear is offline Global recession is coming....
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    Either the policy is a mistake or May be that is what the policy is meant to be?

    Quote Originally Posted by smallant View Post
    As expected. .. the tdsr ratio has more impact on locals as they have more commitments like credit car, car, hdb etc... indirectly the foreigners will benefit from these measures n lower prices. ..

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    Quote Originally Posted by reporter2 View Post
    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...eping-20140423

    Published April 23, 2014

    Foreigners' share of home purchases creeping up

    However, absolute number of transactions is lowest since Q1 2009

    By Kalpana Rashiwala

    [email protected] @KalpanaBT


    [SINGAPORE] Private home purchases fell across the board in the first three months of this year to just over 2,000 units - the first time in more than five years that the number has dropped below 3,000 homes.

    In absolute terms, purchases by permanent residents (PRs) and foreign buyers were also at their lowest levels since the Q1 2009 market trough during the global financial crisis.

    PRs saw their share increase to a record 19 per cent

    Market watchers linked the rise to the rule change in late-August 2013 requiring new PRs to wait three years before they can buy an HDB resale flat, prompting those who need immediate accommodation to turn to the private housing market.
    ...haha...U guys should learn how to read the information beneath it properly... the increase is in %, it is a relative figure... that up is mainly due to huge drop in volume of local buying, but PRs volume up just slightly insignificantly because no choice they have only buy PC....
    A bottle of Lafite '82 for all my coffeeshop friends yesterday...many don't know what is it....haha...

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    Quote Originally Posted by walkthetiger View Post
    ...haha...U guys should learn how to read the information beneath it properly... the increase is in %, it is a relative figure... that up is mainly due to huge drop in volume of local buying, but PRs volume up just slightly insignificantly because no choice they have only buy PC....
    what u expect right? people like to jump at head lines and never read the details.
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    Quote Originally Posted by minority View Post
    what u expect right? people like to jump at head lines and never read the details.
    ....haha.... who are those people behind who produce such news.. to pacify somebody.. it is pure rubbish that trying to give false hope.... If only by sinking the market is the only hope/chance to produce light.... then do the right thing and make it fast.... stop those nonsense news from now... face it, buyers are just not buying anymore....
    A bottle of Lafite '82 for all my coffeeshop friends yesterday...many don't know what is it....haha...

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    Total sales volume has come down a lot, compared to last year.

    Just go read the most recent URA press release on real estate statistics.

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