# Flight to safety: New citizens and PRs drive Singapore luxury home sales as broader market cools

- **Source:** The Business Times
- **Published:** 2026-07-12T23:00:00.000Z
- **Author:** Jeanne Mah
- **Original:** https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/flight-safety-new-citizens-and-prs-drive-singapore-luxury-home-sales-broader-market-cools
- **Topics:** Private Residential, Transactions & Deals

## Featured rationale

Demand from new citizens, permanent residents and capital-preserving investors signals resilience in prime housing and may sustain its outperformance against broader private segments.

## AI summary

CCR transactions of homes priced at S$5 million or more reached 353 in H1 2026, up 24.7 per cent year on year.

## Original article

[SINGAPORE] Sales of luxury homes climbed to a four-year high in the first half of 2026, bucking a slowdown in the broader private residential market.

Market watchers say sales in the upper tiers of the market, transacted at S$5 million and above, are being driven by wealthy investors seeking prime assets as safe havens amid global macroeconomic uncertainty, as well as growing interest from new Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

According to Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Research, luxury home transactions in the prime Core Central Region (CCR) continued to gather pace in H1 2026, with 353 landed and non-landed homes priced at S$5 million or more being sold.

The tally, which excludes bulk transactions involving more than one unit, was up 24.7 per cent from 283 transactions in the year-ago period and 54.8 per cent higher than the 228 units recorded in H1 2024.

Knight Frank Singapore’s analysis showed that in H1 2026, sales of large prime non-landed homes totalled 128 with a combined sales value of S$1.1 billion.

“While this was eight transactions less than H2 2025, the average unit price increased 8.3 per cent to S$2,689 psf (per square foot),” Knight Frank’s report noted.

Asean Intelligence

The firm looked at sales of apartments of at least 2,500 square feet (sq ft) in size and located in Districts 1, 2, 4, 9, 10 and 11 – prime areas such as the Central Business District (CBD), Orchard Road, Sentosa, Bukit Timah and Thomson.

“Singapore’s safe-haven status promoted certainty among those granted citizenship and permanent residencies, as some upgraded from tenancies to home ownership,” said Nicholas Keong, head of residential and private office at Knight Frank Singapore.

Agents are also seeing more enquiries from Singapore citizens and PRs overseas seeking to acquire Singapore properties to preserve capital, Keong added.

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The rise in interest comes amid a softening in the broader private residential market, with overall private home sales (excluding executive condominiums) declining 12 per cent to 10,909 units in H1 2026 from 12,328 units in H1 2025.

A similar divergence played out in prices – government flash estimates released on Jul 1 showed that while overall residential prices rose by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, CCR condominiums gained 2 per cent, even as prices dropped 1.4 per cent in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and slipped 0.2 per cent in the Outside Central Region suburbs.

Sales of new luxury homes priced at S$5 million and up rose with more new CCR projects launched, with new sales in that price segment rising 78 per cent to 73 units in H1 2026, from 41 units in the same period last year.

The resale market grew at a slower pace, with transactions up 15.9 per cent to 277 units from 239 units.

Quarter on quarter, CCR sales transacted at or over the S$5 million benchmark fell to 162 transactions in Q2 2026, from 191 transactions in Q1. However, the Q2 showing is still seen as strong, as volume stayed above the past three-year quarterly average of 137 units, said Realion.

The agency further observed that Q1 2026 transactions hit a 14-quarter high during the onset of war in the Middle East.

Among condos with sales crossing into the S$5 million range, new District 9 launch River Modern chalked up the highest sales, with 44 units sold in that price range in H1.

Buyers were also picking up units at The Draycott (11 units sold at between S$5.4 million and S$7.1 million), Goodwood Residence (eight units transacted between S$5.1 million and S$8.8 million) and Leedon Residence (nine units sold between S$5.9 million and S$16.3 million).

Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip noted that demand for new private homes in the CCR on the whole had rebounded sharply in 2025, “even as foreign buyer participation fell to historic lows following the April 2023 cooling measures”, with pricing emerging as a new catalyst.

On average, foreigners accounted for a significant 17 per cent of new home purchases between 2015 to 2022, according to Huttons’ research.

This dived to 10.7 per cent in 2024, after the government raised additional buyers’ stamp duty on foreigners’ purchases to 60 per cent in April 2023, and fell further to 4.7 per cent in 2026 to date.

Despite the withdrawal of foreign buying, new CCR condo sales jumped five times to 1,916 in 2025 from 378 units in 2024.

“This suggests that the CCR market may be undergoing a structural shift, with local buyers increasingly filling the gap left by foreign purchasers,” said Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia senior director of data analytics.

With the median price gap between CCR and RCR homes shrinking to just 10.1 per cent in 2025 – and nearly halving from 21.5 per cent in 2024, the prime segment has essentially become “a more accessible upgrade option for Singaporean buyers”, he said.

At the same time, a different demographic of buyers may be “right-sizing”, with private property owners “adjusting their housing choices based on lifestyle needs, location preferences and cost considerations”, Lee added.

Meanwhile, in the ultra-luxury segment of condos priced at S$10 million and higher, sales jumped to a 15-quarter high in Q2 2026, according to Realion data.

Some 23 units changed hands, excluding bulk deals involving more than one unit. This exceeded the 16 units sold in Q1 2026 and 14 units in Q2 2025.

Of these, six were new sales while the other 17 were resales. The new sales included two units each at 21 Anderson and Skywaters Residences, and one each at 32 Gilstead and Park Nova.

In the first half of the year, the top prime non-landed deal was a 6,232-sq-ft unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill, Knight Frank data showed. The unit went for S$37 million or S$5,937 psf in January.

Other big-ticket deals included a unit at Seven Palms Sentosa Cove that sold for S$23.9 million, and a unit at Nassim Park Residences that fetched S$23 million.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok

### 避险资金涌入：新公民与永久居民推动新加坡豪宅销售，大市却趋冷

核心中央区优质住宅上半年销售同比跃升近25%

[新加坡] 2026年上半年，豪宅销售攀升至四年来高位，逆势于更广泛私人住宅市场的放缓。

市场观察人士表示，500万新元及以上高端市场的成交，正由在全球宏观经济不确定性中寻求优质资产作为避风港的富裕投资者，以及新新加坡公民与永久居民日益增长的兴趣所驱动。

据 Realion（OrangeTee & ETC）研究，2026年上半年，核心中央区（Core Central Region，CCR）优质豪宅交易持续加快，共售出353套定价500万新元或以上的有地与非有地住宅。

该统计不含涉及多于一个单位的大宗交易，较去年同期的283笔上升24.7%，较2024年上半年的228套高出54.8%。

莱坊新加坡（Knight Frank Singapore）分析显示，2026年上半年，大型优质非有地住宅成交共128笔，合计销售额11亿新元。

“尽管比2025年下半年少8笔交易，但单位均价上升8.3%，至每平方英尺2,689新元，”莱坊报告指出。

该公司考察的是面积至少2,500平方英尺、位于第1、2、4、9、10与11区的公寓——涵盖中央商务区、乌节路、圣淘沙、武吉知马与汤申等优质区域。

“新加坡的避风港地位，为获批公民与永久居留者带来确定性，部分人从租住升级为置业，”莱坊新加坡住宅与私人办公室主管 Nicholas Keong 表示。

经纪亦看到更多来自海外新加坡公民与永久居民的询盘，希望购置新加坡房产以保全资本，Keong 补充道。

兴趣上升之际，更广泛私人住宅市场却在走软：整体私人住宅销售（不含执行共管公寓）在2026年上半年降至10,909套，较2025年上半年的12,328套下降12%。

价格方面也出现类似分化——7月1日公布的政府初步估计显示，整体住宅价格在2026年第二季度上涨0.5%，其中核心中央区共管公寓上涨2%，而其余中央区（Rest of Central Region，RCR）价格下跌1.4%，中央区以外（Outside Central Region）郊区微跌0.2%。

定价500万新元及以上的新盘豪宅销售，随更多核心中央区新项目推出而上升：该价格段新盘销售在2026年上半年升至73套，较去年同期的41套上升78%。

转售市场增速较慢，交易从239套增至277套，上升15.9%。

环比来看，核心中央区达到或超过500万新元基准的成交，从第一季度的191笔降至第二季度的162笔。不过，Realion 认为第二季度表现仍属强劲，因成交量仍高于过去三年季度均值137套。

该机构进一步观察到，2026年第一季度交易在中东战争爆发之初触及14个季度高位。

在成交进入500万新元区间的共管公寓中，第9区新盘 River Modern 销量最高，上半年该价格段售出44套。

买家亦关注 The Draycott（11套，成交价介于540万至710万新元）、Goodwood Residence（8套，介于510万至880万新元）以及 Leedon Residence（9套，介于590万至1,630万新元）。

合登亚洲（Huttons Asia）首席执行官 Mark Yip 指出，核心中央区新盘私人住宅整体需求在2025年大幅反弹，“即便在2023年4月降温措施后，外国买家参与已降至历史低位”，价格正成为新的催化剂。

合登研究显示，2015年至2022年间，外国人平均约占新盘购房的17%。

在政府于2023年4月将外国人额外买家印花税提高至60%后，这一比例在2024年降至10.7%，2026年迄今进一步跌至4.7%。

尽管外国买盘撤退，核心中央区新盘共管公寓销售仍从2024年的378套跃升五倍，至2025年的1,916套。

“这显示核心中央区市场可能正经历结构性转变，本地买家正日益填补外国买家留下的空缺，”合登亚洲数据分析高级总监 Lee Sze Teck 表示。

随着核心中央区与其余中央区住宅中位价差在2025年收窄至仅10.1%——较2024年的21.5%几近减半，优质板块实质上成为“新加坡买家更可及的升级选项”，他表示。

与此同时，另一类买家可能在“调整规模”，私人房产业主“根据生活方式需求、地点偏好与成本考量调整住房选择”，Lee 补充道。

与此同时，在定价1,000万新元及以上的超豪宅共管公寓板块，成交在2026年第二季度跃升至15个季度高位，据 Realion 数据。

共有23套易手（不含涉及多于一个单位的大宗交易），超过2026年第一季度的16套与2025年第二季度的14套。

其中6套为新盘销售，另17套为转售。新盘包括 21 Anderson 与 Skywaters Residences 各2套，以及 32 Gilstead 与 Park Nova 各1套。

上半年，最大一笔优质非有地交易是 The Marq on Paterson Hill 一套6,232平方英尺单位，莱坊数据显示，该单位于1月以3,700万新元或每平方英尺5,937新元成交。

其他大宗交易包括 Seven Palms Sentosa Cove 一套以2,390万新元售出，以及 Nassim Park Residences 一套以2,300万新元成交。