{"id":57311,"date":"2022-07-29T11:27:22","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T03:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/?p=57311"},"modified":"2022-08-19T17:55:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T09:55:06","slug":"property-agent-confessions-on-closing-deals-for-the-ultra-hnwi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/property-agent-confessions-on-closing-deals-for-the-ultra-hnwi\/","title":{"rendered":"Property agent confessions on closing deals for the ultra HNWI\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Recently, we\u2019ve heard about Crazy Rich Asian <\/em>kind of property purchases by ultra high-net-worth individuals<\/a> in Singapore.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is as the world is seeing an increasing number of the ultra HNWI — a 9.3% increase from 558,828 in 2020 to 610,569 in 2021.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ultra high-net-worth individuals refer to those with a net worth of at least US$30 million.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Specifically in Singapore, the increase is 9% from 3,874 to 4,206 over the same period. In the same vein, there\u2019s an increase in the number of family offices being set up here, with Bloomberg citing<\/a> an MAS spokesperson that the financial authority has approved more than 100 family office applications in the first four months of 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So we asked three property agents who serve the ultra HNWI to divulge a bit more about their experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Who are all these ultra HNWI clients buying properties in Singapore?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

According to the agents we talked to, most of the ultra HNWI clients are foreigners, with the majority hailing from China running their own businesses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For Donny Lee, ERA Senior Group Division Director, around 70% to 80% of his ultra HNWI clients are from China.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Likewise, for Kevin Feng, Senior District Director at PropNex, 80% of his ultra HNWI clients are from China and Hong Kong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cMost of them are company owners, listed company shareholders or fund managers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Aric Lim, Senior Division Director at Huttons, tells us his foreign ultra HNWI clients come from various trades, such as energy and blockchain.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI have clients who deal with power plants, solar energy, so, like, maybe they do solar energy in half of the cities in China. That\u2019s how rich they are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Despite the recent crypto collapse<\/a>, he says the team still gets a lot of clients from the industry, although they only take up around 30% of his ultra HNWI clients.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cFor the locals, they would be listed company bosses or real estate developers. They have been doing property for the longest time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While the local ultra HNWI clients go for good class bungalows (GCB)<\/a>, foreigners would usually buy condo units as they are not allowed to buy landed properties in Singapore<\/a>. The only exception is Sentosa Cove, which they will still have to get approval from the SLA. On top of that, they\u2019re restricted to properties with land areas not exceeding 1,800 sqm<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"Interior<\/a>
Cove Drive bungalow sold by Kevin Feng for S$23.89 million. Image credit: Kevin Feng<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cA lot of the GCBs are owned by locals. In recent years, they converted [to Singapore citizenship], so they started buying. [But the locals] still have the highest percentage,\u201d says Donny.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Property agent confessions: How it\u2019s like to serve the ultra HNWI\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Digging a little deeper to find out about their requirements (because they don\u2019t disclose much about it)\u00a0\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When it comes to serving the ultra HNWI, Donny shares that agents need to learn how to understand them. He elaborates there are times when they don\u2019t disclose much information, so he has to dig a little deeper to find out their requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cSometimes you ask them, \u2018How much do you or what do you want to buy?\u2019 They just tell you in general. Sometimes they don\u2019t even tell you how much [their budget is].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For these clients, what matters more is whether their purchase is worth the money.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cYou need to offer them the property to see if it\u2019s something they can accept. I think it\u2019s more of whether they are willing to part with their money or not. More of \u2018Does this product make sense for them to part with their money?\u2019 \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Aric echos the same observation, explaining that these clients want to get the best value for their money.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cOr rather if they like it, they like it. If they don\u2019t like it, they won\u2019t buy it no matter how cheap it is. So if they like it, they\u2019re willing to pay top bucks for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arranging for viewings on the same day of notice\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For Aric, there are times when he has to deal with clients calling for a viewing on the same day as the notice.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThey may call you in the afternoon, and then say, \u2018I want to view house today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So often, his team has to quickly call other owners and agents to arrange for viewings at such a short notice. And get scolded for it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"GCB<\/a>
View of a GCB sold by Aric Lim. Image credit; Huttons Landed Division<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Aric recounts one instance in which the client had already made an offer and was ready to seal the deal at 10.30 am. However, at 7 am, the seller called to inform that they didn\u2019t want to sell the unit anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So he had to quickly call up those that were selling a similar property. By 10 am, he met the client, informed him of the last-minute back-out, and gave him three property options to view.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThese clients are already in the buying mode. So I went and straight away showed him the other three units that were available to view and we just closed the deal on the day itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThey\u2019re quite demanding in terms of expectations. Because after all, all these people have seen the world. And then you know when you\u2019re at the level of having 100, 200 million at your disposal, there are so many things you can do and buy. A lot of choices.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Landed homes for sale<\/h4>\n
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