SINGAPORE, April 20 — Sales of Singapore residential properties to foreign buyers tumbled 78 per cent in the first quarter after a government decision in late 2011 to apply a higher stamp duty to prevent the market from overheating, a newspaper reported today.
There were only 293 transactions in the first three months of 2012 compared with 1,358 in the previous quarter, according to a Straits Times report that cited analysts at property broker Dennis Wee Group.
The figure does not include sales to permanent residents, or Singaporean citizens.
Transactions by permanent residents slipped 7.5 per cent while purchases by Singaporeans fell 12 per cent.
New private home sales in Singapore eased in March from February but remained high compared with historical data, indicating continued strong demand for apartments in the city-state despite market-cooling measures.
Singapore home prices fell 0.1 per cent in January-March from the preceding quarter — the first drop in nearly three years — following government measures to discourage speculative demand. — Reuters
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