Daily Briefing: Singapore trumps New Zealand as expat haven; Why local home prices are still uninspiring

And home prices are expected to take another nosedive.

Singapore scored highest in HSBC’s 2016 Expat Explorer survey, taking the top spot for a second year. New Zealand took the crown in the experience subcategory, while Switzerland dominated in economic terms and Sweden won on childcare. Some 27,000 people participated in the annual poll. Read more here.

Singapore’s housing market is still weak, with house prices falling 2.94 percent during the year to the second quarter of 2016, revealed a report from Global Property Guide. But demand is now stronger, with 2,256 new units sold in Q2, up 59 percent from the previous quarter and 6.6 percent higher than a year ago, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) shows. Read more here.

Private home prices here are expected to be dragged down by the large upcoming supply of 10,262 units in the second half of this year and 14,578 units in 2017. In addition, around 45 percent of the incoming supply is located in the suburbs, and this could exert downward pressure on property prices. Read more here.