July’s sudden announcement of increased additional buyer’s stamp duties (ABSD) has kicked up some dust in the local real estate industry. High net-worth foreign investors looking at luxury properties may have been a little taken aback.
But will they return once the dust settles?
Foreign property buyers likely to return in future
While some buyers may be put off by the 20% ABSD levied on foreign buyers, others who have the monies to spare may eventually return.
Many of the luxury properties or penthouses here are owned by foreign buyers or permanent residents. Mainland Chinese buyers have overtaken Indonesians and Malaysians as the biggest buyer of private properties here.
But they may find themselves bound by stricter rules following China’s stricter controls on capital leaving their country and now by Singapore’s new ABSD rates.
High-rise luxury penthouses are often coveted addresses and their owners hail from the super-rich high-net-worth crowd such as Alibaba co-founder Sun Tongyu and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. This set of buyers may not be affected by the new rules which include a raise in stamp duties and a lower loan limit.
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Le Nouvel Ardmore, Condo.
Mr Sun, for example, paid $51 million for a 13,573 sq ft luxury apartment in Wing Tai’s Le Nouvel Ardmore and Mr. Saverin forked out $60 million for a 10,300 sq ft penthouse with a cantilevered private pool at Sculptura Ardmore.
Super-rich investors unlikely to be thwarted by new measures
Though these super-rich buyers may hold back slightly to see what else the authorities do and how the market reacts to the new measures, they are unlikely to stay away should they spot a piece of real estate they fancy.
Singapore’s real estate continues to be attractive to them and industry experts believe that they will return if they see a product that fits their needs and objectives.
The largest super penthouse available here is valued at more than $100 million by List Sotheby’s International Realty. It is a rare property if not for its price then for its size.
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Penthouse pool, Wallich Residence.
It sits in Wallich Residence and is about 6 times larger than their regular penthouse.
Some of the other properties here with mega-sized penthouses include Le Nouvel Ardmore, Sculptura Ardmore, Parkview Eclat, Reflections at Keppel Bay, Marina Bay Residences, Goodwood Residence, The Marq and Boulevard Vue.
