HSBC Singapore rolls out mortgage for Australian homes

It will initially be available to properties in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

HSBC Bank (Singapore) launched HSBC International Mortgage, its first overseas mortgage solution, an announcement revealed. It will initially be offered to customers looking to finance residential property investments in Australia before being rolled out to other markets.

With the mortgage, customers can choose between currency denominations in AUD or SGD and manage their accounts including their overseas home loan across 65 markets. Successful applicants who will be given the HSBC Premier status will also have the potential to seek relationship manager support in Singapore and Australia.

Offered in Singapore, the loan will initially be available to investment residential properties located in and around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, but will be progressively rolled out to other overseas destinations over time.

Ranojoy Dutta, head of retail products, HSBC Bank (Singapore) commented, “We went with Australia as the first market for this solution given the close affinity that Singaporeans have for the country on the back of their business, education, holiday or familial ties.”

Also read: Singapore's real estate investment in Australia ballooned 141% to US$3.5b

According to a 2018 report by HSBC, a third of the surveyed mass affluent Singaporeans currently have overseas property investments, whilst 70% plan to buy investment properties abroad.

In 2017, more than 400,000 Singaporeans visited Australia. Of which, over 200,000 went to Australia for holiday purposes with the most popular destinations being Melbourne (35%), Sydney (30%) and Perth (27%). Likewise, there were nearly 1,800 Singaporeans who started their studies at Australian universities in 2016.