Head-to-Head: Which Property Investment Market Reigns Supreme – UK or Singapore?

As we are all aware, investing in property is a significant decision that requires careful consideration and research as it will be with you for a long period of time.

A part of our operation at APW is exploring the Singapore market as a lot of our clients and partners are based there. Currently, we are seeing a lot of people ask me "why don’t I just buy in Singapore if I am living there? I don’t have to worry about a property that is half-way across the world?" - makes sense I suppose?

I appreciate it’s not a full proof response because every situation is different, but I will try to provide a brief insight into both markets, just to give you a balanced view perhaps... So, lets go!

Both the UK and Singapore offer their own unique advantages and challenges when it comes to investing in property.

The UK has a more established and stable property market than Singapore, pure and simple - while the UK property market can be affected by economic and political changes, it generally experiences less volatility than Singapore's property market.

The UK's property market is also relatively well-regulated, with government policies and regulations in place to help maintain stability as we are all aware. For example, the government has implemented measures such as stamp duty land tax (SDLT) to help regulate property demand and prevent excessive price growth. Currently for overseas buyers, if you see below, this table shows stamp duty rates for transactions from 23rd September 2022 when the initial SDLT threshold increased from ￡125k to ￡250k. We will touch on the Singaporean regulations shortly as it is very eye-opening!

Moreover, the UK's property market has shown resilience over the years, even during periods of economic uncertainty. For example, the market continued to perform well during the 2008 global financial crisis and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Singapore's property on the other hand as mentioned, their market can be more expensive than the UK, and property prices have been known to experience significant fluctuations. Historically, rental yields in Singapore are typically higher than those in the UK. Although, after looking into this, they are not performing as well as the UK which would back up the argument for the UK being less volitile and more inviting for investors.

Furthermore, Singapore is known for its high standard of living (A pint of beer is roughly ￡9 - crazy!), excellent infrastructure, and quality healthcare and education systems. These factors can make Singapore an attractive destination for foreign buyers and renters leading to higher rents in the market.

Now the Stamp duty regulation as I previously mentioned! New rules are now in place as of yesterday, where foreigners who are buying any residential property in Singapore from Thursday (Apr 27) will have to pay an additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) of 60 per cent after it was doubled from 30 per cent so for a SGD1 million property, you’d have to fork out SGD600k on Stamp duty, which is ludicrous even for a residential purchase.  

Ultimately, the decision to invest in property in the UK or Singapore will depend on your personal circumstances, risk tolerance, investment goals (BIG), and other factors. It's important to do your research, seek professional advice, and carefully consider all of your options before making a decision but hopefully the above information has given you a small insight into what would suit your property goals, whether it is Singapore or the UK.

If you are one of these people who are considering either Singapore or the UK for property investment, please drop me a line to discuss.

As always if you liked the above article - like, comment and share guys.

Ben