Singapore’s Property Boom
If figures are anything to go by then property investments in Singapore have set a new record of sorts and just within the first half of 2007.
According to CB Richard Ellis, Singaporean investors have spent as much as $21.4 Billion on real estate investments within the first half of 2007 alone! It is expected that the momentum will continue and break the record of $30.51bn that was set in 2006.
Sales figures for real estate prices at $5 million or more have already touched 48%, which is much higher than the value that was attained for the same period in 2006.
The executive director of investment properties, CB Richard Ellis says that “At this halfway point, there is every reason to expect that investment sales for the whole of 2007 will surpass last year’s figures, and may hit $35 billion.”
The first quarter sales for land sales, en bloc sales and other properties in Singapore climbed heights of $11.7Bn and the second quarter has already recorded over $9.67Bn till date which is 16% more than during the same period last year. With 86% sales or almost $18.5Bn being chalked up by the private sector alone, the public sector land sales are estimated at around $2.9Bn alone.
Couple of the biggest property transactions of the year include the Government sale of Tampines Grande for $225 million to City Developments and the purchase of the hotel site by the Carlton Group at the Gopeng Street/Tanjong Pagar Road for a staggering $123 million. These transactions are especially significant as they signify the enormity of Singapore’s property boom.
Transactions of just over $14.6 billion or 68% have been made in the first half of 2007 in the residential sector alone and this includes deals involving first class bungalows as well.
Much of the Singapore’s property boom can be attributed to the fact that developers are in a rush to grab well-located plots to build up the land banks and are not shying away from spending mega bucks to meet this target. So as the first half of this year was witness to sales of 67 plots totalling a huge $7.92Bn alone!
If experts are to be believed then the real estate investment market in Singapore is set to better its performance in the second half and public sector sales will be a major contributor. While the ascent of the Singapore property market is great news for everyone – buyers, sellers, investors – those who have lived and survived the bust of the property market in the 1990s are especially wary.
Poised on the plans to make Singapore a tourist capital, and the fact that over a billion dollars have been invested in various resorts projects across the island, together with ongoing endeavour to become a hub for private wealth management, Singapore’s property boom is a great chance for investors to make some good money within a small time horizon. And perhaps the most important question on everyone’s mind is: for how long can this property boom last? For the time being, the signs are encouraging!
Billy Chen
billy@billychen71.com
Tel: (+65) 88689999
Fax: (+65) 64021826
