Overseas buyers are generally freely permitted to purchase an apartment in a building which has at least six stories, a housing unit in an ‘approved condominium development’ or alternatively a leasehold property a building which has at least six stories.  All other properties may be available for sale to an investor but they have to seek the permission of the Singapore Land Authority before proceeding to purchase.

In many emerging property markets investors have to seek legal permission to purchase from the local government and this process is simply par for the course and never a real hindrance to the buyer; in Singapore the situation is very different.  Many properties are deemed ‘restricted’ and are unavailable for sale to a foreign buyer, therefore anyone looking at properties for sale in Singapore needs to be aware of this fact and have a good property specialist lawyer on board from the start to quickly assess whether any real estate an investor sets their sights on is legally for sale to them.

Interest rates in Singapore are currently relatively low which is helping to attract more buyers to the property market.  Home financing can be quite affordable and if an investor decides they want a mortgage to buy their investment property in Singapore they should have this agreed in principal before making any offer to buy otherwise the sale could fall through and the potential buyer could lose up to a 10% deposit.  Restrictions exist especially where an investor is hoping to buy an investment property with a limited lease – generally the shorter the lease period the higher the interest rate applied to any loan and the more difficult it will be to obtain financing.  Anyone who requires a mortgage to purchase must keep this in mind.