Singapore's private residential property now ranks as the most expensive in the Asia-Pacific, according to a report released by the Urban Land Institute on May 30. Singapore's private sector homes have surpassed Hong Kong SAR as the most expensive in the region with a median price of US$1.2 million.
Additionally, Singapore's private sector rental homes are also the most expensive in the region, with a median monthly rent of approximately US$2,600, reflecting a nearly 30% increase. Singapore also leads the way with around 90 percent homeownership, compared to low homeownership rates in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul, as per South China Morning Post.
This is due to the government's ''consistent commitment to enable its citizens to own homes at reasonable prices from the early years of the country's independence in the 1960s'', said the report.
For the sharp increase in home prices and rent, the report cites 5 reasons:
- A large influx of immigrants into the city-state
- A growing trend of young professionals to move out of their family homes for space and freedom
- Government's new measure that requires homeowners to serve a 15-month wait-out period after the disposal of their private properties before they are eligible to buy a non-subsidized Housing Development Board (HDB) resale flat
- A relatively limited stock of institutionally or individually owned rental properties
- A reduced new supply of housing in the past few years due to the disruption to the supply chain of building materials and labour due to COVID.
Meanwhile, prices in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) fell to what they were around five years ago. The decline in the costs of private homes has been linked to rising mortgage interest rates and a drop in population. However, it still recorded the highest median home price per square meter at USD 19,768.
In the next-highest market, Sydney single-family homes were a median of US$980,000.
The 2023 report covers nine countries — Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Out of the eight Indian cities surveyed, Mumbai has the highest median home price per square meter of USD 3,383 while Delhi NCR, recorded USD 1,358 per sq meter.
