Australia has become the number one destination in the world for millionaires, with wealthy international investors increasingly targeting local real estate. And one surprising country of only six million has been part of the charge.
New data released by Juwai IQI international real estate group revealed Australia is the number one destination for homebuyers from Singapore, making up 27.5 per cent of all Juwai IQI’s outbound residential property inquiries from Singapore.
Singaporeans also made up a sizeable share of the 5200 millionaires who moved to Australia last year.
In the 2022-2023 financial year, Singapore buyers acquired $300m of residential real estate in Australia.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Australia was the number one destination for Singaporean home buyers.
MORE: Abandoned mansion cracks $19m sale
‘Magnificent’ eco retreat with jaw dropping views
Juwai IQI co-founder and CEO Kashif Ansari said the data offers an insight into the preferences of Singaporean property investors.
“The global focus has been on Chinese buyers for the past decade and a half, but buyers from Singapore have been active for longer,” Mr Ansari said.
China is still the number one country for international home purchases in Australia, with $3.4b worth of real estate purchased in financial year 2023 alone.
“Because Singapore buyers tend to have ample cash, they have an advantage in a market like Australia where mortgage rates are high,” he said.
“Not coincidentally Australia is also the number-one destination in the world for millionaires.”
Data from Henley & Partners who specialise in residence and citizenship by investment revealed that 5,200 millionaires migrated to Australia in 2023 alone.
That compared to 4,500 who moved to the UAE and 2,100 who migrated to the USA.
“Singapore is a small country with a constrained domestic market, high levels of wealth, and an international outlook,” Mr Ansari said.
Other popular destinations for Singaporean residential home buyers was Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.
Australia is the number one destination for Singaporean residential buyers according to Juwai IQI.
MORE: Heartbroken Channel 9 star’s big post-split move
Mr Ansari said Singaporean investors who purchase overseas residential real estate are usually seeking to diversify their investments, take advantage of Singapore’s strong dollar and avoid higher transaction costs at home.
“Singaporean investors also provide housing for their children who are studying abroad, or obtain second homes for retirement and holidays,” he said.
Australia’s popularity among Singaporean investors is due to factors such as cultural ties, educational opportunities, a stable real estate market, lifestyle and proximity, according to Mr Ansari.
“The city of Perth, on Australia’s West Coast, is just five hours and 10 minutes by flight time from Singapore,” he said.
“Singaporean buyers don’t find Australia’s foreign buyer restrictions too onerous. Offshore
buyers are limited to off-the-plan properties in the country, but Singaporeans often find new projects the most attractive product on the market.”
MORE: NRL cult hero’s at-home dramas