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Rich foreigners pick S'pore for second home

Friday 08 April 2011

Republic ranks No. 2 among East Asians and Indians, and is also top relocation choice: Poll

SINGAPORE is a leading location of choice for wealthy Indians and East Asians looking to buy a second property away from home, a new report has found.

The Global Wealth Report 2011 polled 160 wealth advisers at Citi Private Bank at the start of this year on where clients were considering buying a second home.

Released on Wednesday, the annual report on the world's wealthy was compiled by Citi Private Bank and property consultancy Knight Frank.

It found that Singapore's luxury homes racked up the third-biggest price rises worldwide last year - growing by 18 per cent - outpaced only by Shanghai and Mumbai.

In East Asia, 16 per cent of advisers said clients were likely to consider Singapore as one of their top destinations of choice, second only to the United States.

About 19 per cent of advisers - the highest proportion - said clients would look to America for a second property.

Almost half of the wealth advisers in India - a total of 47 per cent - picked Britain as most likely to be favoured by clients. Singapore was the second favourite with 23 per cent.

The 160 wealth advisers represent almost 5,000 wealthy individuals across 36 countries, worth on average more than US$100 million (S$126 million), the report stated.

Responses were based on advisers' own opinions or their understanding of clients' attitudes.

While Singapore was the second choice in terms of buying additional homes, it was the top pick for Indians and East Asians when it came to relocation.

In East Asia, 22 per cent said Singapore would be the ideal location for those considering to move, followed by Canada (17 per cent) and Australia (17 per cent).

The highest percentage of those in India - 37 per cent - picked Singapore as the first choice for relocation. This was followed by Britain (27 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (19 per cent).

Africans picked Singapore as the fourth-preferred location to move to, with a 17 per cent response. Beating Singapore on this list were Britain, the United Arab Emirates and America.

For those in Europe, Singapore was the fifth choice for relocation, with 4 per cent of respondents selecting it, following Switzerland, Britain, Monaco and the United States.

Property market experts say more expatriates have been buying prime properties here, including landed homes.

'More and more expats are buying bungalows compared to two or three years ago,' RealStar Premier Property Consultant managing director William Wong told The Straits Times.

The bulk of these expats are Chinese and Indians, he said, but there are increasingly more Malaysians buying as well.

Mr Steven Ming, executive director of Investment Sales & Prestige Homes, said there has been a rise in demand from In-dian and Chinese buyers.

The number of Chinese buyers has risen 'in the past six to nine months', he said.

These buyers are partial to villa-type houses in Sentosa and penthouses and apartments in city areas such as Orchard and Marina Bay, he added.

Source: The Straits Times