SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Some of Singapore's most desirable houses come with a catch: only locals can own them.
That foreign buyers - notably from China - who for years helped drive demand for luxury homes, can't buy these dwellings, hasn't dented their appeal. Their scarcity and the exclusivity they confer have pushed prices of the homes - known as Good Class Bungalows, or GCBs - to record highs, even as the broader property market cools.
Just about 2,500 GCBs dot the city-state, ranging from colonial-era houses to architect-designed modern homes with cantilevered verandas, infinity pools and expansive landscaped gardens, a world away from the high-rise apartments most Singaporeans call home.
To read more: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singaporeans-loving-the-luxury-homes-foreigners-cant-buy
Adapted from The Straits Times 18 February 2019