The upswing in Singapore buyers follows a steady growth in demand for new private residential homes, particularly among young Singaporeans, whom we define as those aged between 26 and 35 years old.Between 2015 and 2022, the cohort of local adults comprising the above age group of new private home buyers has more than tripled.
Based on proprietary industry data from ERA Singapore, covering a sample size of 37,000 Singaporean new home buyers, we have identified three prominent demographic trends pertaining to new private home buyers in Singapore.
Mirroring housing markets worldwide, older Singaporeans have traditionally dominated the domestic market for new private homes, but there are now compelling signs supporting a noticeable shift in this widely-held narrative.
Across the past nine years, the share of young Singaporean buyers of new private homes has climbed steadily. In 2015, this demographic group accounted for just 9% of new private home sales in the country. This figure has surged by 26 percentage points to 35% in 2023.
The percentage of Singaporeans under 25 in the new private home sales market, though still small, also grew to 3% in 2023.After the Covid-led demand surge in 2021, Singapore’s residential market entered a new realm, characterised by rising home prices amid supply chain disruptions and elevated interest rates. The additional buyer’s stamp duty implemented in April 2023 further dampened new home demand across the board in 2023. New private home sales reached some 13,027 units in 2021 but have fallen to a mere 6,421 units by 2023.
Among the different age groups, those between 26 and 35 saw the smallest decline in home-buying activity. Between 2021 and 2023, buyers in this age group shrank by 59.5%, from 1,818 to 737.However, the older cohorts — 36 to 45, 46 to 55, and above 55 — fell more significantly by 69%, 72.9% and 71.8%, respectively, over the same period.