Foreign property is a well-known option for passive real estate investment. In this article, we will explore the Singapore real estate market, its recent trends, and potential profitability.

Overview of the Singapore real estate

Singapore is a highly developed and prosperous global financial hub with a strong and diversified economy. Despite its small size, Singapore boasts the second-highest GDP per capita in the world. It is driven by robust trade networks, a strategic location, and a business-friendly environment.

Due to the country’s reputation for political stability, low corruption, and a highly skilled workforce, Singapore has become an attractive location for global real estate investors. In the first quarter of 2024, foreign investment accounted for 45.6% of property deals in Singapore. The market offers affordable options for Singaporean citizens with public housing while private properties are more expensive and cater to both locals and foreigners.

Overall, Singapore showed resilience even during the pandemic, with home prices rising at an annual growth rate of 7.1% on average.

Real estate market in Singapore: Current trends

Yet, despite the remarkable performance of the past years, the recent data indicates a significant cooldown in the growth rate of the Singapore real estate market. Here is what is currently going on:

  • Governmental interventions. In April 2023, the Singaporean government introduced a new package of cooling measures to curb the amount of foreign involvement in the property market. Since then, foreign buyers have had to pay 60% as an additional buyer’s stamp duty. This change aimed to reduce the growth rate of real estate prices in order to keep properties affordable for the residents of the country.
  • Dip in housing prices. As a result of the cooling measures, the residential real estate prices experienced a slight decrease of 3% at the end of 2023. Recent forecasts also indicate that this year’s housing prices are expected to either experience a modest increase of up to 5% or continue their slow decline by approximately another 3%. 
  • Supply expansion. This year, new housing units are expected to finally enter the market. The potential implications are that (1) real estate buyers will have a wider selection of properties to choose from, which can water down the prices, and (2) tenants will move out into their new homes, leaving many rental properties empty and negatively affecting the growth of rental prices.
  • Buyer’s market. The Singapore real estate market is slowly but surely entering a buyer’s market stage. The oversupply of real estate properties means that buyers have more opportunities to negotiate the prices. This situation is expected to continue for the next couple of years, which means the growth of Singapore property prices is predicted to slow down considerably.

These trends mark a new stage in the Singapore real estate markets. Considering this is a response to the rapid growth of the previous years, it is safe to assume that the Singaporean government aims to restrain the dynamic of property price increases for at least the next several years.

Is it profitable to invest in Singapore real estate now?

While Singapore is nowhere near the Chinese levels of real estate decline, experts still warn of the obvious signs of a cooldown. Should property prices continue to grow, their annual growth in 2024 and consequent years is not expected to breach the maximum of 3–5%.

As a passive investment option, the Singapore real estate market is not projected to bring considerable profit, especially compared to other global markets with actively developing infrastructure.

Invest in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world

Even though Singapore is experiencing a slowdown, you can find other chances to profit from international real estate.

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