Sales of residential homes in Singapore have reached a five-month high as they increased 29% last month due to many foreign buyers seeing the country as a safe place in which to invest. This is because of the recent earthquake in Japan and the continuing political unrest in the Middle East regions.
Sales of new homes rose from 1,386 in March to 1,788 in April which is the highest level since 1,915 homes were bought in November. However this figure has dropped since a previous high of 2,208 recorded a year earlier.
According to Donald Han, managing director at Cushman and Wakefield, this shows that consumer confidence is still high both locally and internationally, and that Singapore is still seen as a highly desirable investment destination.
The economy in the country grew at an annual rate of 23.5% during the first quarter and homes are now at record prices in spite of the government's attempts to curb speculative buyers. The government has extended the period for sales tax liability on home sales from 3 to 4 years and has also raised the down payment necessary for second mortgages.
This hasn't stopped investors as most intend to hold onto their properties for longer term and are not buying them just to flip them. It remains to be seen if the government will introduce any more measures, and much depends on property price figures for the second quarter.
There is growing discontent amongst Singaporeans who are unable to afford property in the city and this led to the People's Action Party losing votes and seats during general elections held earlier in May.
No comments:
Post a Comment