With 1,788 homes sold in April, representing a 29 per cent increase and a five month high, Singapore is emerging as a safe destination for investment. Unaffected by the devastating earthquake in Japan and far away from the political revolt sweeping the Middle East, Singapore is seeing home prices reach record highs, according to Bloomberg.
With an annual growth rate projected at 23.5 per cent after the first three months of this year, the Singaporean government began to enact new rules and regulations to cut back speculation. However, the utility of these measures is questionable; with a similarly booming housing market in Hong Kong the government there put similar measures into place, but residential sites are still selling at exorbitant prices. Likewise, growth in Singapore has continued.
Part of the reason for this continued growth, despite government measures, is the nature of the regulations in that they are mainly targeting short-term buyers. For those looking for a long term investment the new rules will have little effect, but those who seek to “flip” the property shortly after buying may want to look elsewhere.
With prices still rising, the government has stated a plan to introduce further measures if the price of homes continues to grow. However, it is possible this may not be necessary. Even with home prices rising for seven straight quarters now, the most recent quarter saw the smallest rise.
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