In Singapore, the number of condominium units purchased by foreign buyers experienced a decline in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease, amounting to 22.6%, resulted in the sale of 205 private non-landed homes, down from 265 units in the preceding quarter, according to data from OrangeTee & Tie. This decrease followed a significant increase in the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for foreign buyers, which was doubled to 60% at the end of April.

Executive condominiums (ECs), which are not available to foreign buyers, were not included in these figures. The percentage of purchases by foreigners also decreased during this period, falling from 6.9% to 4.2%.

The increase in ABSD was the most significant in the recent cooling measures, implemented on April 27, after consistent growth in foreign purchases over the previous quarters.

Interestingly, American buyers became the dominant group in the second quarter, unaffected by the hike as they enjoy the same stamp-duty benefits as Singaporeans. They managed to surpass mainland Chinese buyers, who had been the largest foreign buying group from 2017 until the first quarter of 2023. In the second quarter, 56 condominium units were acquired by Americans, outpacing the 51 units bought by Chinese buyers, revealed Christine Sun, the Senior Vice-President of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.