For Singapore to stay on top, economic restructuring cannot rest

Foreign buyers accounted for over 70 per cent of the total sales value of two high-end projects, according to their developer City Developments.

At its New Futura project near Orchard Road, foreign buyers were mainly from China, Indonesia and Malaysia, and also included Singapore permanent residents. Over at the 174-unit Gramercy Park, also a stone's throw away from Orchard Road, the most expensive units - four penthouses - were also sold to foreigners at prices ranging from S$16.88 million to S$24.5 million.

Such confidence in Singapore's property market by foreigners may be surprising but it should not be dismissed as a one-off phenomenon. Property consultancy Knight Frank notes that there has been a significant rise in purchases by foreigners in the luxury segment in Singapore's prime areas which includes districts 9, 10 and 11, and Sentosa.