Main nationalities of Singapore’s private property buyers

Singaporeans, by far, have been and remain the primary buyers of Singapore’s private non-landed (excluding EC) properties.

Apart from Singaporeans, which nationality has been the primary purchaser of Singapore’s non-landed properties, and how has this changed over time?

Firstly let’s take a look at the long-term history of property buyers and their nationality.

The orange section indicates buyers from China. This portion has been increasing as China’s economy grows and its people become richer.

Some of their people then migrate or come to Singapore to buy properties.

The dark blue section, attributable to Malaysian buyers, has been relatively stable.

The pink section, representing Indian buyers, has grown but has been stable since 2010.

On the left, there’s a large proportion of light blue and green, attributable to Indonesia and companies. This proportion has fallen over time.

For purposes of this post, the top 10 nationalities are determined by the cumulative number of new, resale, and sub-sale transactions from 1995 to 2025.

The largest buyer groups, together with the number of cumulative purchases over 1995 to 2025 by them in brackets, apart from Singaporeans (413,369), are

1. Malaysia (29,796)
2. China (26,558)
3. Indonesia (20,844)
4. Purchases by companies (13,234)
5. India (12,667)
6. United Kingdom (4,853)
7. USA (4,117)
8. Foreigner (un-specified) (3,982)
9. Australia (3,205)
10. Taiwan (2,678)

The other buyer nationalities, ranking from 11-20, are

1. Korea
2. Hong Kong
3. Myanmmar
4. Philippines
5. Canada
6. France
7. Vietnam
8. Japan
9. Germany
10. Switzerland

For purposes of understanding the broader picture, the buyer nationalities that are ranked 11-20 are not critically important, as collectively they do not contribute a large proportion to overall transaction volume.

With that backdrop in mind, here are some insights based on the numbers.

1. Chinese buyers began to grow very significantly from 2010

Concurrent with China’s explosive growth in the 2000s, its proportion as buyers has similarly grown.

Purchasers in 2025 by nationality: Chinese buyers account for 25% of the year’s total (excluding Singaporeans), followed by 16% from Malaysia.

In comparison, purchases by Chinese buyers in 2000, as a proportion of that year’s total (excluding Singaporeans), were only 2%. Malaysian and Indonesian buyers were many multiple times larger at 24% and 18% respectively.

The chart below presents the absolute number of Chinese buyers, which has increased significantly since 1995.

Looking forward, based on China’s growth trends, which is decently healthy compared to global levels, and Singapore’s relatively open economy, the proportion of purchases attributable to Chinese buyers is likely to remain at these high levels.

2. Indian buyers have stayed stable since 2010

Another large Asian economy with historically strong cultural and financial ties to Singapore is India.

As a buyer group, their purchases of Singapore property were relatively small before 2010, averaging about 5% of the annual total (excluding Singaporeans).

The chart below shows the absolute number of Indian buyers.

Over the years, as the economy grew and Indian citizens’ financial exports increased, the share of purchases attributable to Indians rose marginally to about 10% in 2010 and has remained at around that level since.

Given India’s greater distance from Singapore than other Southeast Asian economies, the proportion of purchases by this buyer group is unlikely to increase significantly.

3. Proportion of Malaysian buyers have generally been consistent

Malaysia’s very close proximity to Singapore has made its citizens look south for many of their property purchases.

And this is indeed borne out in the numbers.

The chart below shows the absolute number of Malaysian buyers.

As buyers, Malaysians have cumulatively (between 1995 and 2025) been the largest group to purchase Singapore property.

At its peak, Malaysian buyers accounted for just under 50% of the annual total of buyers (excluding Singaporeans) in 2002, but this was an outlier.

At a more stable level, however, the proportion attributable to them (excluding Singaporeans) hovers between 15 and 20%, which is still a substantial share.

Whilst the proportion in recent years has fallen, this is simply due to a larger share being taken up by Chinese buyers, and to a lesser extent, Indians.

In the future, I expect the proportion of Malaysian buyers to continue being the highest, if not the second highest, simply because of the country’s proximity to Singapore.

Additionally, the train link between Woodlands in Singapore and Johor Bahru, expected to be operational in 2026, is set to draw the two countries closer together.

4. Indonesian buyers were significant before 2015, but no longer are

Indonesia is another fairly large-sized economy that has featured prominently in Singapore’s property market.

The early 2000s were a period when Indonesia’s GDP growth was relatively strong, at 5% or more. Since there were strong trade linkages between the two countries, it is not a surprise that the annual proportion of Indonesian buyers (excluding Singaporeans) was around 18% (in 2000 and 2005).

The chart below shows the absolute number of Indonesian buyers.

However, as Indonesia’s property market developed and its citizens had options to purchase housing domestically, the proportion of Indonesian buyers of Singapore property declined.

In 2010, excluding Singaporean buyers, the proportion was 15%; by 2025, it had fallen to 4%.

Another reason for the decline in Indonesian buyers in Singapore may have been the depreciation of the Rupiah.

In the early 2000s, 1 Singapore dollar was equivalent to about 5,000 Indonesian Rupiah, and by 2025, it had risen to about 13,000 Indonesian Rupiah.

5. Company purchases were significant before 2010, but no longer are

Purchases by companies were substantial before 2010 but have not been since then.

The chart below shows the absolute number of purchases attributable to companies, and it is evident that there has been a stark decline, with the total purchases totalling only 6 in 2025.

In the future, it is unlikely for purchases by companies to increase, given the increased focus by the government on anti-money laundering and preventing opaque ownership of property.

6. Buyers from the UK were not large to begin with, and their proportion has fallen over time

Another country worth mentioning is the UK, which accounted for 5% of annual total purchases (excluding Singaporeans) in 2000.

Singapore must have been an attractive destination for British investment in the past, given the promise of strong growth (substantially greater than that achieved in the UK).

However, at the individual level, the depreciation of the British pound presented a headwind that few offshore investors could stomach.

The chart below shows how the British pound has depreciated against the Singapore dollar over the years, and that could have been one reason for the falling participation by UK buyers (and at the same, the increase of Singapore buyers in UK property due to the stronger Singapore dollar)

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