Here are the top market destinations for Singapore property investors

Asian investors focused on 'trophy assets'.

According to Colliers International’s latest regional white paper release, “Riding the Next Wave of Asian Buying Spree”, while Asian real estate investors traditionally focused on their home country or region, they are extending their geographical boundaries to include the United States, Australia and countries in Europe, as they pour increasing amount of money from their home markets to overseas.

The Paper revealed the first two waves of outbound property purchases by Asian investors since 2000.

The first wave was targeted quality real estate in London and Sydney, which were also the favourite among Singapore investors.

Before the global financial crisis, a significant portion of outbound capital also went to other European cities – including Paris, Munich and Madrid. Asian investors mainly focused on trophy assets in prime cities during the first round of outbound investments, as these are mainly the longer-term investors, such as GIC. The next wave is expected to be in the fringe areas of gateway cities.

The Paper also noted that Hong Kong, Mainland China and Singapore are the region’s biggest buyers in real estate outside Asia, accounting for 71 per cent of the total amount the region invested in 2013. They are set to remain the key sources in the next few years.

Of the US$30 billion worth of outbound investments made by Asian investors in 2013, approximately 27 per cent was contributed by Singapore.