More Singaporeans buying properties abroad

The number of Singaporeans buying properties overseas is likely to go up with the additional property cooling measures taken by the Singapore government, says leading property website group, PropertyGuru. The measures, which came into effect last Saturday, included immediate increase in stamp duties payable across the board by between three and eight per cent.

The Singapore government said it was introducing the "road barriers" to slow the property market and avoid a crash in the future. Following the introduction of previous cooling measures there was an immediate increase in inquiries from Singapore buyers for Malaysian development projects. Commenting on the latest move in a statement, Steve Melhuish, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru, said: "Property remains an attractive and secure investment class, and we expect overseas property purchases by buyers from Singapore will increase over the coming days, weeks and months."

With Singapore property prices at all-time high, overseas property investments look very good value, even in places like Australia and London. Melhuish added: "The declining growth in property price rises in Singapore, combined with the large supply coming into the market and what is close to recessionary GDP growth, means there is a definite downside risk for Singapore property investments versus overseas."

He said these latest measures could well be a tipping point for a property market correction in Singapore. Last year PropertyGuru held 15 successful property exhibitions throughout Southeast Asia and in Hong Kong.

These country-specific events featured up to 10 developers and included informative speaker sessions.