Australia is the top destination for Singapore property investors as its millionaires look for somewhere to retire or send their children to study.
The city state nation of six million people is also Australia’s No.1 source of foreign investment on a per capita basis accounting for population – even though the Chinese buy the most Australian property.
Juwai IQI, which markets property to wealthy investors in Asia, found Australia topped the list for Singaporeans making enquiries between January 2020 and Novmber 2023.
The group’s founder and chief executive Kashif Ansari said Singaporeans were particularly interested in Australia because many were considering either moving there or enrolling their children in an Australian university.
Australia is the top destination for Singapore property investors as its millionaires look for somewhere to retire or send their children to study (pictured is Marina Bay Sands in Singapore)
‘When Singaporean investors purchase overseas residential real estate, they are usually seeking to diversify their investments, take advantage of Singapore’s strong dollar, avoid higher transaction costs at home, provide housing for their children who are studying abroad, or obtain second homes for retirement and holidays,’ he said.
Singaporeans accounted for 27.5 per cent of foreign enquiries about buying real estate in Australia, ahead of Thailand’s 16.5 per cent and Malaysia’s 13.2 per cent, with prospective Chinese buyers not on Juwai IQI’s top ten list of countries.
But China is still Australia’s No. 1 origin of foreign property buyers, with the Chinese buying $3.4billion worth of real estate assets in Australia in 2022-23, Treasury figures showed.
Singapore was equal fourth on the list with $300million worth of transactions in line with India and Taiwan but behind Hong Kong ($600million), Vietnam ($400million).
But Singapore’s investment in Australia is the highest per capita, with its population of 5.92million marginally more than Sydney’s 5.3million – and well below China’s 1.4billion.
‘While the total international residential real estate investment out of Singapore isn’t comparable to the total from China, it still far out-paces any other country on a per-capita basis,’ Mr Ansari said.
Juwai IQI founder and chief executive Kashif Ansari said Singaporeans were particularly interested in Australia because many were considering either moving there or enrolling their children in an Australian university.
Singapore is also home to 240,100 millionaires and 27 billionaires – making it the world’s seventh richest city for high-net worth individuals, London-based immigration consultancy Henley and Partners found.
‘There are several reasons that Singapore is one of the world’s top buyers of international real estate, but at the base of them all is a cultural preference for property investment and an abundance of capital,’ Mr Ansari said.
‘Singapore is a small country with a constrained domestic market, high levels of wealth, and an international outlook.’
Foreigners are only allowed to buy an established property in Australia – or something that is not a new build – if they are residents and can prove they are living, working or studying locally.
But foreigners not living in Australia are only allowed to buy something that is brand new, in a bid to encourage more residential apartment building to boost the supply of homes.
Permanent residents are treated differently to foreigners and do not need Foreign Investment Review Board approval to buy a new or established property, or a block of land.
Education is Australia’s fourth biggest export after coal, iron ore and natural gas, being worth $26.6billion a year (pictured are students outside the University of New South Wales)
Education is Australia’s fourth biggest export after coal, iron ore and natural gas, being worth $26.6billion in 2022, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data showed.
This has led to big immigration influx with 125,410 permanent and long-term arrivals in January alone, with that figure including international students because they stay for more than a year.
On a net basis, with departures factored in, the 55,330 figure for January was 40 per cent higher than the previous monthly record of 39,460 in 2009, Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday showed.