SINGAPORE: Credit Suisse said its recent survey found that majority of the respondents expect property prices in Singapore to continue to rise and more cooling measures to come.
According to its inaugural proprietary housing survey, six in 10 home buyers believe that there'll be more cooling measures, with 40 per cent of them expecting measures to be introduced in the next 12 months.
Credit Suisse noted that buyers are most sensitive to capital gains tax and stamp duties.
Of the 300 people polled, 53 per cent of them said that their buying decision will be influenced by government measures.
About 47 per cent of the respondents also expect property prices and rentals to rise.
Credit Suisse said the survey also found that about 30 per cent of home buyers purchased a property for investments while the rest are genuine buyers who bought a property for own occupation or for their family members.
In particular, about six in 10 buyers said they would not buy a shoebox apartment.
Shoebox apartments have been popular with home buyers in the last couple of years and have helped to drive up new homes sales as they are seen to be more affordable.
By the looks of the survey findings, Credit Suisse expects home sales in the primary market to moderate "to more normalised levels" after the record sales volumes in the first four months of this year.
According to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, over 10,600 units of new private homes have been sold from January to May 2012.
The survey showed that just 21 per cent of the respondents are considering buying a residential property over the next 12 months, while 40 per cent of them said there are no plans to buy a property anytime soon.
Still, Credit Suisse said 76 per cent of households are able to afford a property fairly as liquidity remains strong.
It noted that 47 per cent of the respondents do not have an existing mortgage, while another 46 per cent have only one mortgage.
The survey also revealed that 30 per cent of households have over S$100,000 in cash, which could easily form the downpayment for the purchase of a property.
The Credit Suisse proprietary housing survey polled 300 respondents, 89 per cent of them are Singapore citizens, 10 per cent are permanent residents and the rest are foreigners.
- CNA/fa
By Wong Siew Ying | Posted: 12 July 2012 1651 hrs
Source: Channel NewsAsia