Opinion: International Property, Currencies and Singapore Insights

Are Buyers Actually Having fun with Capital Appreciation and Rental Returns?

In keeping with the newest HSBC International Entrepreneurial Wealth Report 2025, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland rank as the highest locations for the world’s super-rich to ship their cash.

Singapore leads the pack, cementing its popularity as a worldwide hub for entrepreneurial wealth and relocation. The research surveyed 3,000 entrepreneurs throughout 15 markets, and the city-state emerged because the standout alternative for wealth preservation and progress.

The UK: Rising Rents, Shrinking Provide

However what concerning the UK market? Are landlords benefitting from these cash flows?

The Royal Establishment of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that new rental listings plunged to minus 37 in August — the bottom since April 2020, when Covid froze the economic system. With demand far outstripping provide, rents are forecast to rise one other three % over the following 12 months.

The numbers are stark: official information reveals rents have jumped 30 % in simply 4 years. In London, tenants now pay a median of GBP 2,250 (SGD 3,904) per 30 days, piling on extra cost-of-living strain. What’s behind this? A landlord exodus. Authorities laws tilted in the direction of renters has pushed many house owners to promote, additional decreasing rental inventory and driving costs larger.

Briefly, tenants lose, however the remaining landlords are having fun with fatter returns.

May the Identical Occur in Singapore?

Singapore is totally different, however parallels exist. The world’s steepest property tax on overseas patrons — a 60% Extra Purchaser’s Stamp Responsibility (ABSD) — has successfully excluded foreigners from the residential market. That leaves residents and everlasting residents as the first gamers.

This exclusion retains costs in verify relative to different wealth hubs resembling Hong Kong, London, Monaco, and Zurich. But it surely additionally limits rental provide. Fewer buyers imply fewer rental items — and that helps drive rents larger for locals who personal property.

Certainly, Singapore’s rental costs have been climbing steadily. And whereas one might argue that decrease boundaries for overseas patrons may need fueled even larger property values and rents, for now, the beneficiaries are clearly the native landlords.

International Property Dynamics

The most recent Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index confirms the shifting panorama.

• Tokyo surged with 8.8 % progress in H1 2025, powered by a power scarcity of latest provide and robust demand. Forecasts name for one more 6 % –7.9 % rise within the second half of the 12 months.
• Berlin, Dubai, and Seoul every posted progress above 5 %, supported by tight provide pipelines and resilient sentiment.
• Life-style cities resembling Amsterdam, Cape City, Lisbon, and Sydney additionally gained, buoyed by their enduring attraction to international patrons.
• Hong Kong struggled, with a 3.5 % drop in H1 2025 amid coverage uncertainty and already sky-high pricing. Nonetheless, it stays the world’s costliest market, averaging US$3,720 per sq. foot.

Singapore: Protected Haven Foreign money, Distinctive Market

The foreign money story issues too. Julius Baer notes that the Singapore greenback, together with the Swiss franc, is the one main foreign money to persistently ship constructive returns towards the US greenback over 10, 20, and 30 years. Since 2000, the SGD has risen 29.3 % versus the USD — the strongest in Asia.

This makes Singapore each a property and foreign money haven. However the residential market right here is in contrast to every other. The ABSD creates a fortress, protecting worldwide speculative capital out and leaving long-term worth creation to locals and PRs.

The place Ought to Buyers Look?

With capital values projected to rise simply 1.5 % in H2 2025, the true alternatives lie within the secondary market, the place older prime condos supply:

• Bigger layouts
• Decrease density
• Scarcer areas

For eligible patrons — Singaporeans, PRs, and exempt nationalities resembling People and Swiss — these properties characterize sturdy worth and upside, particularly given the en bloc potential in prime areas.

Take Orchard Street: round Cairnhill, uncommon gems like The Edge on Cairnhill by starchitect Moshe Safdie (of Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi fame) commerce beneath SGD 2,700 psf. That’s much more engaging than smaller, much less central new launches.

Or Tanglin: St. Regis Residences — 999-year leasehold, with elegant grounds and concierge companies — might be discovered at simply SGD 2,800 psf. That’s a discount in comparison with many more recent however much less distinguished initiatives. Close by, The Tomlinsontrades even decrease, although with out the identical model cachet.

Ultimate Take

In a world of foreign money volatility, provide squeezes, and shifting coverage, Singapore stands out. With restricted land, sturdy home demand, and a rock-solid foreign money, property right here continues to function probably the greatest long-term worth preservation belongings. For these eligible to purchase, the secondary market in prime districts stays the neatest play — combining heritage, house, and long-term appreciation.

This opinion piece was written by luxurious skilled Alex Shlaen

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