Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh weighed in on the matter, where a Chinese national bought 20 units at CanningHill Piers for over $85 million.
In a Facebook post on Friday (Jun 3), Mr Singh shared an excerpt from the following article: ‘Chinese national pays $85m for 20 CanningHill Piers units’. To that, Mr Singh commented: “This doesn’t seem right”.
Within the day, many others, including former NCMP Calvin Cheng and veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon, commented on the post asking Mr Singh to explain his remarks while adding their own.
Here’s what they said:
TISG has reached out to Mr Singh asking for comment and clarification.
Last month, Mr Inderjit Singh, raised questions on private property affordability for local home buyers.
Linking a Straits Times article on new private home sales data for April, the former PAP MP said, “Property as an investment instrument by foreigners just drives prices up.”
“How affordable will private property be for Singaporeans in the future?” Singh questioned.
New private home sales stabilised in April, with a rise in luxury home sales and a growing number of foreign buyers despite property cooling measures. Buyers snapped up 653 new private homes last month, on a par with the 654 in March, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released on May 17. Developers rolled out 397 new homes last month, up 28. 5 per cent from 309 in March.
Luxury home sales rose in April, with 115 units sold for at least $3 million each, up from 89 units in March, based on URA`s Realis data. Foreign buyers snapped up 59 non-landed private homes (excluding ECs) last month, more than double the 25 units in March. Most of the units sold to foreign buyers were in the core central region and city fringe.
Overall, private homes in the city fringe accounted for 44.3 per cent of the total sales volume last month. The increase in luxury home purchases and foreign buyers indicates that investors continue to view properties in Singapore favourably despite the cooling measures. The additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) is 30 per cent for foreigners buying any residential property. Analysts believe that the lifting of travel restrictions, imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, has boosted foreign buyers’ confidence. /TISG
Will private property still be affordable for locals in the future? Ex-PAP MP questions