Singapore Amongst 17 Cities Forecast to See Residential Price Falls In 2024 According to Savills’ World Cities Prime Residential Index

A major factor is weaker sentiment associated with higher interest rates and the challenging economic landscape. Other cities projected to see price falls this year include Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seoul.

These cities will record slower capital value growth than in 2023. Singapore and San Francisco are forecast to see growth of between -3.9% to -2%. The rate of growth for London, New York and Paris will likely be between -1.9% to <0%, whilst Hong Kong is -10% or lower. (See table here)

Kelcie Sellers, Associate, Savills World Research states that “economists, policymakers, and market participants are in broad agreement on the outlook for 2024. Inflationary pressures will gradually abate – with the easy gains largely now behind us – necessitating ‘higher for longer’ interest rates and the likelihood of a sustained period of weak global growth. Even though prime residential is less mortgage reliant than mainstream residential property, weaker macroeconomic conditions are expected to dent sentiment. Thus, many potential buyers and sellers will likely adopt a ‘wait to see’ approach in a higher interest rate environment.”

George Tan, Managing Director, Livethere Residential, Savills Singapore says, “A softer market presents opportunities for high net-worth individuals to buy top properties in prime locations. Wealthy families will also take up this opportunity to invest for the next generation.”

Alan Cheong, Executive Director, Research & Consultancy, Savills Singapore comments, “While the high-end residential market was affected by the imposition of a 60% levy on foreign buyers, the relative low supply in this segment of the market is allowing the market to easily find a price floor and over time, will create a stronger foundation. This means that with less new supply from 2025 onwards in the high-end residential market, prices will soon be likely to reach a point of stabilisation.”

Chinese locations Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen are also forecast to see price falls over 2024 as the property market volatility and restrictive government policy to try to stabilise the market take effect in these cities.

Across the 30 global cities monitored in the index, Savills World Research projects a positive prime residential price growth of 0.6% in 2024, a drop from the 2.2% achieved in 2023.

Sydney and Dubai are forecast to be the two top performers for the year ahead, with both cities set to benefit from increases in their high-net-worth population. Sydney is seeing high levels of demand for quality prime homes, but supply remains low. It’s likely that this imbalance will persist through 2024 and push up prices, which are forecast to increase by 8% to 9.9%.

Dubai increased by a significant 17.4% over the year, but it’s likely that this rate of growth will slow this year as it returns to more normal activity. Savills anticipates prices to grow there by a further 4% to 5.9%.
Generally, markets with comparatively lower price points relative to other world cities look likely to perform well over the coming year. Cape Town, Barcelona, Madrid, and Kuala Lumpur each boast prices per square foot below $800, and comprise the next four forecast highest growth markets.