Check out why Singaporeans insist on buying homes amid price hikes

3 in 5 intend to buy properties in the next months.

According to iProperty.com's Asia Property Market Sentiment Report 2H12, despite rising house prices and concerns about affordability, a survey has revealed that 62% of Singaporeans still intend to purchase property in the next six to twelve months. 

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"While housing affordability remains a major concern for consumers in Singapore, with many adopting a wait-and-see approach, the majority of Singaporeans are still actively looking to purchase property in the short to mid-term," says Sean Tan, General Manager, iProperty.com Singapore. "This suggests that despite the economic situation in Europe and the US, which has slowed demand from some of Singapore's key trading partners, the sentiment among consumers in the Singapore real estate market remains positive."

Survey findings also revealed that 38% of respondents in Singapore were considering investing overseas with Malaysia and Australia being the two favoured destinations. The Singapore figure was noticeably higher than for consumers in Hong Kong (15%), Indonesia (32%), and Malaysia (19%).

"It's not surprising that people are looking outside of Singapore for investment opportunities. Singapore's currency is one of the strongest in the region and house prices are among the highest. For many, this makes overseas investment a more attractive proposition than investing locally," added Tan.

Other findings in the report showed that 86% of people surveyed in Singapore cited affordability and rising house prices as their biggest concern about the local property market. Respondents also felt strongly about ensuring the affordability of HDB flats.

80% came out in favour of the Singapore Government's continued involvement in maintaining the price of resale HDB flats at affordable levels.

Additionally, 63% feel that the Government should step up its efforts in monitoring the number of shoebox apartments in a residential development.

The iProperty.com Asia Property Market Sentiment Survey 2012 was carried out in July 2012 and attracted over 25,000 respondents. The majority of the survey respondents were between 26 and 50 years old and mainly held executive/managerial and professional level positions with an annual income above the national average. 2,983 respondents from Singapore took part.