Rising trend of foreign buyers at Sentosa Cove homes

Rising trend of foreign buyers at Sentosa Cove homes
Dec 10, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Foreigners, including permanent residents contributed to the 43 percent increase of home transactions in Sentosa Cove in the first ten months of 2009, from nearly 38-39 percent in 2007 and 2008.

A Savills analysis of caveats data captured by URA's Realis system also indicated that four out of ten foreign buyers of homes in Sentosa Cove between Q4 2004 and Q4 2009 came from 'Western' countries such as Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America and Europe.

During that period, such foreign buyers were more interested in Sentosa Cove than in the other well-known districts of 11, 10, 9 and 1.

Ong Choon Fah, executive director of DTZ observes: “Buyers from Western countries appreciate the lifestyle elements in residential developments a lot more. In their home markets, units in a project that face the water or bay can sometimes be priced double that of units that don't have such a view.”

Savills also found 1,297 caveats lodged for acquisitions of private houses in Sentosa Cove over the five-year period, with 37.5 percent or 487 from foreigners, including permanent residents.

In the first ten months this year, 133 caveats were lodged for Sentosa Cove homes, 57 of these were purchased by foreign buyers. Malaysians have the largest share of 14 caveats or 25 percent, followed by UK citizens, Indonesians, mainland Chinese and individuals from Hong Kong.

Mrs. Ong from DTZ said: “What Sentosa Cove offers is very unique. It's as close to waterfront housing as you'll get in Singapore, plus it's a gated community, with limited car access to outsiders. Sentosa Cove used to be like a construction yard. Now, however, most of the homes have been developed, and foreigners may be even more inclined to buy.”

Sentosa Cove is the only location in Singapore where foreigners who do not permanently reside in the island city-state are allowed to purchase landed property, giving Sentosa Cove additional draw among other locations.

However, foreigners must seek permission from the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit, which is under the Singapore Land Authority.