Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, just a narrow clarification for the Minister of State. If I heard him correctly, he said that foreigners accounted for 4% of private property transactions in the last three years. Can I clarify – does that classify Permanent Residents (PRs) as foreigners? And up until what point is this data available? I mean, is it as at the end of last year and we are counting the last three years from the end of last year backwards or so on? Just wanted to clarify that.
Mr Alvin Tan: I thank the Member for this supplementary question. Maybe, just let me give the Member a broader view. The foreigners’ share of private housing purchase has dropped from about 20% in 2011 to about a low of about 3% to 4% over the past few years. Coming out of the pandemic, the share has remained limited – about 7% in the first quarter of 2023.
Again, the Member wanted more questions, I would ask the Member to file a separate PQ on foreign housing.
Ministry of Trade and Industry
10 May 2023
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3249
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 