新加坡核心区域繁华，拥有大量的豪华公寓、别墅和度假村，很多超级富豪受吸引，纷纷涌向这个城市国家。

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现在，新加坡政府的一系列降温措施挫伤了住宅市场，大多数海外投资者需承担高达18％的销售税，令很多人望而却步。

自21世纪中期起，当地政府将新加坡定位成一个全球性的金融和银行中心来发展，并放松了对海外购房者的限制，大量资金流入该地区。房地产开发商抓住机遇，建设豪宅，尤其是在圣淘沙这个小岛上，不断改变市区的天际线。

前职业足球运动员大卫·贝克汉姆（David Beckham）、武打明星成龙和李连杰、澳大利亚矿业大亨吉娜·莱因哈特（Gina Rinehart）和脸谱的创始人之一──来自巴西的爱德华多·路易斯·萨维林（Eduardo Luiz Saverin），这些全球超级富豪都有在新加坡投资房地产──不过他们的房产现在可掉价了不少。

根据房地产咨询公司高力国际（Colliers International），一些住宅，特别是高端物业，当前售价相比2007-2008年的高峰期要低30%。

国际房地产公司莱坊（Knight Frank）的亚太地区研究主管Nicholas Holt指出，在过去的24个月里，新加坡的房地产市场已经走向疲软。他说：“我们看到，在去年的高峰期末，房价出现陡降。这不是一个周期性衰退，更像是由于政府诱导所形成的放缓。”

在所有的房地产降温措施中，真正阻止房价上涨的是额外买家印花税（ABSD）政策的出台。这项措施始于2011年，当时规定按房产的购买格征收10%的印花税，两年后税率提高到了15％。

“ABSD打消了不少国外买家的积极性，”Nicholas Holt说。“一些国家的投资者能获得ABSD豁免，如美国公民不必缴纳15%的额外印花税，但加拿大不是其中之一。而标准的买家印花税约为3％，所以购房者实际需要支付购房价18％的税款，这就相当多了。”

莱坊的新研究显示，对于外国投资者来说，新加坡目前是除中国香港外的亚太地区，买房成本最高的地方。然而，市场下行的迹象随处可见。

2015年莱坊财富报告的国际豪宅指数显示，2014年新加坡豪宅价格下跌12.4％，表现排在第98位。该指数追踪全球100个城市的高档住宅的价格变化。

第一太平戴维斯（Savills）在1月住宅销售简报中指出，今年的私人住宅价格预期将下降约7.5％。需求可能开始再次累积，尤其是长期投资者的需求。

“利率有可能上升，潜在的新供应正在形成，政府或放松调控措施，市场可能已经触底，所以这也许是一个机会，”Nicholas Holt说，“已经有买家在观望。”

同时，供应量将增加：作为 2015年新加坡政府卖地项目的一部分，六个地块将供应约2,530个新房。

“长期来看，新加坡房地产市场仍然乐观，”Nicholas Holt表示，“新加坡的生活成本很高，基础设施非常完善，它干净、安全，和全球联系紧密。同时，新加坡还是一个多元化的、多民族国家，它拥有发展所需的一切。新加坡是一个岛国，所以土地资源有限。在我看来，新加坡的房地产市场将继续表现良好。”

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Singapore slowdown: Have ultra-rich properties hit bottom?

Drawn by its glittering downtown core and luxury condominiums, villas and resorts, the ultra-rich have flocked to the city-state of Singapore.

Now, a host of government cooling measures have dampened the residential property market, with many discouraged by a sales tax of 18 per cent for most foreigners.

An influx of money started pouring into the region in the mid-2000s as the government pitched itself as a global financial and banking hub and loosened rules for foreign buyers. Developers took note, changing the downtown skyline and building luxury properties, particularly on the tiny island of Sentosa.

Former professional footballer David Beckham, actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Australian mining heiress Gina Rinehart, and Brazil’s Eduardo Luiz Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook, are among the ultra-rich who have invested in property in Singapore – property that is worth a lot less now.

According to Colliers International, some homes, particularly high-end properties, are selling by as much as 20 to 30 per cent below the peak prices in 2007-08.

“The market in Singapore has been soft for a while now, in the past 24 months,” says Nicholas Holt, head of research, Asia Pacific, for international real estate firm Knight Frank.

“We saw, in the prime end of the market, prices came down pretty steeply last year. It’s not a cyclical downturn but very much a government-induced slowdown.”

Among the measures to cool the housing market, and stop prices from appreciating, is the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). Introduced in 2011 at 10 per cent of a property’s purchase price, it was increased two years later to 15 per cent.

“The ABSD has cooled off a lot of interest from foreign buyers,” Mr. Holt says. “There are exemptions to the ABSD, but Canada is not one of them. U.S. citizens don’t have to pay 15 per cent. There’s the standard Buyer’s Stamp Duty, which is approximately 3 per cent. So you’re actually paying 18 per cent on the purchase price, which is a lot.”

Aside from Hong Kong, Singapore is now the most costly place in Asia-Pacific for a foreigner to invest in real estate, according to new research from Knight Frank. However, signs of a downturn are everywhere.

According to the 2015 Knight Frank Wealth Report’s Prime International Residential Index, which tracks the change in price of prime residential property in 100 cities around the world, Singapore came in 98th in terms of performance for 2014 at -12.4 per cent.

Prices in the private residential market are expected to drop about 7.5 per cent this year, Savills states in its January residential sales briefing. Demand may start to build again among longer-term investors in particular.
“With potential rising interest rates, potential new supply coming in, and the potential easing of cooling measures, the market is potentially coming near the bottom, so it could be an opportunity,” Mr. Holt says. “There are buyers sitting on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, supply will increase: Six sites that are part of the 2015 Government Land Sale Programme will yield an estimated 2,530 new private homes.

“The long-term story for Singapore is still very positive,” Mr. Holt says. “It has a high standard of living and fantastic infrastructure. It’s clean, it’s safe, it’s very well connected to the world; it has a diverse, multinational population. It has everything going for it. It’s an island, so there’s limited land. Long-term, I believe it’s a place where the market will continue to perform well.”