More Rich Foreigners Choose Singapore As Second Home

28 Apr 2011

SINGAPORE is a leading location of choice for wealthy Indians and East Asians looking to buy a second property away from home, a new report has found.

The Global Wealth Report 2011 polled 160 wealth advisers at Citi Private Bank at the start of this year on where clients were considering buying a second home.

Released on Wednesday (April 6), the annual report on the world's wealthy was compiled by Citi Private Bank and property consultancy Knight Frank.

It found that Singapore's luxury homes racked up the third-biggest price rises worldwide last year growing by 18 per cent outpaced only by Shanghai and Mumbai.

In East Asia, 16 per cent of advisers said clients were likely to consider Singapore as one of their top destinations of choice, second only to the United States.

About 19 per cent of advisers the highest proportion said clients would look to America for a second property. Almost half of the wealth advisers in India a total of 47 per cent picked Britain as most likely to be favoured by clients. Singapore was the second favourite with 23 per cent.

The 160 wealth advisers represent almost 5,000 wealthy individuals across 36 countries, worth on average more than US$100 million, the report stated.

While Singapore was the second choice in terms of buying additional homes, it was the top pick for Indians and East Asians when it came to relocation.

In East Asia, 22 per cent said Singapore would be the ideal location for those considering to move, followed by Canada (17 per cent) and Australia (17 per cent).

The highest percentage of those in India 37 per cent picked Singapore as the first choice for relocation. This was followed by Britain (27 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (19 per cent).

Africans picked Singapore as the fourth-preferred location to move to, with a 17 per cent response. Beating Singapore on this list were Britain, the United Arab Emirates and America.

For those in Europe, Singapore was the fifth choice for relocation, with four per cent of respondents selecting it, following Switzerland, Britain, Monaco and the United States.