Housing market reverses gains as local affordability hits a wall

Savills notes a 7.2% foreign buyer tick is just a statistical anomaly on a near-zero base.

Non-landed home sales in Singapore fell in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, marking a second consecutive quarterly decline, according to a recent Savills Research report.

The report provides a broader perspective on uneven market momentum, with activity peaking around the third quarter (Q3) of 2021 and declining through 2022, when the fourth quarter (Q4) recorded the lowest sales at approximately 2,000 units.

Whilst the market remained stagnant in 2023, it recovered across 2024 and 2025, recording two peaks—one in Q4 2024 and another, sharper spike in Q3 2025.

The report also said the sharp downturn in Q1 2026 was driven by lower transactions from Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs), which fell 21.5% (3,920 units) and 19.7% (761 units), respectively.

This reversed gains from the previous two quarters and reached the lowest level since Q1 2024, when 640 units were recorded, Savills Research data said.

Foreign buyers purchased 89 units in Q1 2026, up from 83 units in Q4 2025, an increase of 7.2%, but foreign participation remained limited, reflecting a low base due to the 60% Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) that continues to apply to foreign purchases.

Singaporean buyers accounted for 82.1% of non-landed transactions in Q1 2026, down 0.8 percentage points (pps) from the previous quarter, whilst PRs accounted for 15.9%, up 0.2 pps.

Meanwhile, foreign buyers accounted for 1.9%, up 0.5 pps, marking the highest level since Q2 2023, when it reached 4.0%.

The report noted that this was prior to the increase in ABSD in April 2023 from 30% to 60% for residential property purchases by foreigners.

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