With prices some 20 percent below their 2011 peak, one real estate firm has suggested that now could be a good time to invest in prime residential property in Singapore.
Singapore prime residential prices have been falling since 2012 according to JLL who estimated the average luxury prime residential price of S$ 1,991 per sq ft in 4Q 15 – about 20 percent below the peak during 2011. Amongst all the asset classes in Singapore, prime residential property prices have corrected the most in the last four years. Office, retail and industrial prices have corrected by just 4-6 percent while suburban residential prices have declined by 12 percent, the agency said in its latest research report.
Singapore, it said, ranks amongst the top global cities alongside London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Forbes magazine also named Singapore as the 4th most visited city globally, while Mercer ranked Singapore as the top city in Asia for quality of living and the 4th most expensive city in the world for expatriates.
Yet, JLL said that prime residential prices in Singapore are significantly more affordable than these global cities, especially as Singapore prices have fallen sharply while other cities’ prices have continued to climb during the last four years.
Prime home prices in Hong Kong are now 165 percent higher than Singapore. Prime home prices in New York and London were 10-30 percent higher than Singapore in 2010, but these are now 80-90 percent higher because prices in New York and London rose by between 20-25 percent in the last five years while those in Singapore fell by 20 percent.
JLL reported: “We believe this policy backdrop is ideal for investments as a positive “catch-22” situation exists to limit price declines. Should economic conditions deteriorate, the Singapore government could remove some cooling measures to mitigate price corrections. Yet, prices could gradually rise to catch up with global and regional peers.”
