journo
14-09-22, 17:30
"Bulk acquisitions" of private property are extremely rare and are not expected to have an influence on the market: MND
Sep 12, 2022
Instances of "bulk acquisitions" of private property are extremely rare. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said on Monday that such multiple-unit transactions accounted for approximately one percent of all private residential property units that have been traded so far this year (Sep 12).
The percentage of units that are involved in multiple-unit purchases involving more than two units is significantly smaller, coming in at around 0.2 percent. According to a written response that Lee provided in response to concerns that were brought up for discussion by Member of Parliament Yip Hong Weng, Lee stated that "hence, bulk property acquisitions are unlikely to have a large influence on the property market."
Yip had inquired as to whether the government would consider creating a separate and higher tier of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) for property buyers who purchase more than a certain number of units in a single development across a period of time; whether the benefits from purchasing property in bulk, such as bulk-purchase discounts, will negate or cushion the impact of previous ABSD increases; and under what circumstances would the Ministry consider introducing curbs on burgeoning property prices in Singapore.
According to Lee, the ABSD was "designed to control investment demand in residential property and is consequently differentiated depending on the residence status of the buyer and the overall quantity of residential properties possessed." Lee made this observation. "ABSD opposes the purchase of several units since generally speaking, higher charges apply to purchases made by individuals who already own at least one residential property. Additionally, purchasers who are not citizens of Singapore are subject to higher fees," he noted.
In December 2021, ABSD rates were increased for all buyer profiles, with the exception of Singapore citizens and permanent residents who were acquiring their first residential property.
In the most recent months, there have been many acquisitions of property reported. According to sources, a Chinese national spent more than S$85 million to purchase 20 condominium apartments at CanningHill Piers in June. This development is located along the Singapore River.
Anecdotally, real estate brokers have observed that there are instances of multiple acquisitions being made during the debut of new real estate projects. In some cases, members of the same family acquire more than one unit in the development. The majority of the time, developers will give precedence to those prospective purchasers who have made it clear during launch previews that they are interested in purchasing several units.
Although "bulk buys" are not unheard of, real estate brokers report that they are not very common and account for fewer than 5% of the apartments that are sold at launch.
"It might be a case of parents and children who want to be together, and as a result, they choose units that are adjacent to each other. It's also possible for siblings to gather together to make a purchase, according to the senior director of research at Huttons Asia, Lee Sze Teck.
Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, responded to a question about whether or not bulk buyers received discounts by stating that there is no guarantee that bulk customers will obtain a lower price. It is dependent on the project as well as the level of demand among buyers."
Leong Mun Wai, a non-constituency member of parliament, posed additional questions to the minister on Monday. He asked whether the flow of foreign money into the local property market has increased over the past two years; if so, whether such inflow has pushed up private and public property prices over the past two years; and whether the government intends to introduce new policies to manage the impact of the flow of foreign money into the local property market. He also asked whether the government intends to introduce new policies to manage.
Lee brought up the fact that non-citizens are not permitted to own HDB apartments. In addition, they only make up a relatively little part of sales of privately owned homes. Over the course of the previous two years, they were responsible for around 3% of all private housing sales. This is lower than the level before the epidemic, which was over 5% between 2017 and 2019.
In addition, he stated that "While the foreigner proportion of private house transactions remains low, the government will continue watching foreign money inflows on our property market attentively and change our regulations as appropriate in order to create a stable and sustainable property market."
Sep 12, 2022
Instances of "bulk acquisitions" of private property are extremely rare. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said on Monday that such multiple-unit transactions accounted for approximately one percent of all private residential property units that have been traded so far this year (Sep 12).
The percentage of units that are involved in multiple-unit purchases involving more than two units is significantly smaller, coming in at around 0.2 percent. According to a written response that Lee provided in response to concerns that were brought up for discussion by Member of Parliament Yip Hong Weng, Lee stated that "hence, bulk property acquisitions are unlikely to have a large influence on the property market."
Yip had inquired as to whether the government would consider creating a separate and higher tier of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) for property buyers who purchase more than a certain number of units in a single development across a period of time; whether the benefits from purchasing property in bulk, such as bulk-purchase discounts, will negate or cushion the impact of previous ABSD increases; and under what circumstances would the Ministry consider introducing curbs on burgeoning property prices in Singapore.
According to Lee, the ABSD was "designed to control investment demand in residential property and is consequently differentiated depending on the residence status of the buyer and the overall quantity of residential properties possessed." Lee made this observation. "ABSD opposes the purchase of several units since generally speaking, higher charges apply to purchases made by individuals who already own at least one residential property. Additionally, purchasers who are not citizens of Singapore are subject to higher fees," he noted.
In December 2021, ABSD rates were increased for all buyer profiles, with the exception of Singapore citizens and permanent residents who were acquiring their first residential property.
In the most recent months, there have been many acquisitions of property reported. According to sources, a Chinese national spent more than S$85 million to purchase 20 condominium apartments at CanningHill Piers in June. This development is located along the Singapore River.
Anecdotally, real estate brokers have observed that there are instances of multiple acquisitions being made during the debut of new real estate projects. In some cases, members of the same family acquire more than one unit in the development. The majority of the time, developers will give precedence to those prospective purchasers who have made it clear during launch previews that they are interested in purchasing several units.
Although "bulk buys" are not unheard of, real estate brokers report that they are not very common and account for fewer than 5% of the apartments that are sold at launch.
"It might be a case of parents and children who want to be together, and as a result, they choose units that are adjacent to each other. It's also possible for siblings to gather together to make a purchase, according to the senior director of research at Huttons Asia, Lee Sze Teck.
Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, responded to a question about whether or not bulk buyers received discounts by stating that there is no guarantee that bulk customers will obtain a lower price. It is dependent on the project as well as the level of demand among buyers."
Leong Mun Wai, a non-constituency member of parliament, posed additional questions to the minister on Monday. He asked whether the flow of foreign money into the local property market has increased over the past two years; if so, whether such inflow has pushed up private and public property prices over the past two years; and whether the government intends to introduce new policies to manage the impact of the flow of foreign money into the local property market. He also asked whether the government intends to introduce new policies to manage.
Lee brought up the fact that non-citizens are not permitted to own HDB apartments. In addition, they only make up a relatively little part of sales of privately owned homes. Over the course of the previous two years, they were responsible for around 3% of all private housing sales. This is lower than the level before the epidemic, which was over 5% between 2017 and 2019.
In addition, he stated that "While the foreigner proportion of private house transactions remains low, the government will continue watching foreign money inflows on our property market attentively and change our regulations as appropriate in order to create a stable and sustainable property market."