SUMMARY
- Singapore outpaces Hong Kong to clinch the title of the most expensive private homes in the Asia-Pacific region, with a median home price of $1.2 million.
- Monthly rental prices in Singapore top the charts in the region, far surpassing those of other cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, and Hong Kong.
- Despite a surge in property prices, Singapore continues to implement measures to ensure economic stability, including increasing taxes for property purchases.
Singapore's private residences now hold the prestigious title of being the most costly in the Asia-Pacific region, a distinction previously held by Hong Kong, as established by a recent report.
The Home Attainability Index, published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Asia Pacific Centre for Housing, revealed startling figures: the median price of Singapore's private homes stood at an impressive $1.2 million in 2022, overtaking Hong Kong's $1.16 million. Notably, Singapore's private rental homes emerged as the champions of the highest monthly rent in the region, clocking in at $2,600. This figure, the report noted, was markedly higher than the rental costs in other cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and even Hong Kong.
This compelling study is drawn from government statistics spanning 45 cities and nine markets within the Asia-Pacific region. It explores the concept of home attainability, evaluating both homeownership and rental opportunities relative to the median income of households.
Hong Kong's home prices experienced a significant downturn in 2022, a fact attributed to the spike in mortgage interest rates keeping up with the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to ULI. Hong Kong's residential property prices took a nosedive to a five-year low in October, as the heightened interest rates inflated borrowing costs.
Further factors adding to Hong Kong's housing plight were the recent increase in the base interest rate by Hong Kong's monetary authority to 5.5%, following the U.S. central bank's move to raise the fed funds rate to between 5% and 5.25%. ULI's report suggested that a combination of population outflow and a less positive outlook on the local property market contributed to a significant 8.7% decrease in Hong Kong's median home price from 2021's $1.27 million to around $1.16 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, Singapore's private homes ascended to the top spot for the most expensive in Asia-Pacific, registering an over 8% increase in median price in the past year alone. Adding fuel to the fire, Singapore raised its property purchase taxes just last month amidst fears that soaring prices could potentially destabilize the economic equilibrium.
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