What type of Mortgages are Singaporeans getting ?
In the midst of an ongoing mortgage war amongst the major banks in Singapore, the rise of uptake of mortgage loans has been ever-increasing in 2017. Of course, this mortgage competition brings about attractive rates for prospective home buyers. However, we note that little is known about the mortgage market itself, such as the type which is most in-demand or the demographics of mortgagees. As such, we will provide you with an overview and factsheet of mortgage statistics compiled and analysed in 2017.
Firstly, we all know that we Singaporeans generally tend to be conservative in nature, especially when it comes to financial matters. We feel the need to have some kind of control over our future, and this is proven by the fact that 74.5% of mortgage types taken are fixed deposits while the second most popular type are fixed loans which constitutes of 19.5%. The rest constitutes of floating rates (2.8% are SIBOR/SOR-pegged and 3.2% board types) which are more risky and volatile in nature.
Another thing to note is the purpose of the loans, which can also mean the main purpose and demand for the mortgage loans. Of course, first-time purchase constitutes the majority with a 63.7% portion of the loans. In second place, are second-time purchases (30.8%) which are possibly due to the fact that second private property purchases are not liable for ABSD (Additional Buyer Stamp Duty) charges. Only a few minority (5.5%) makeup of those purchasing their 3rd property or more. Further analysis has also indicated an interesting fact that amongst these loans, 60.9% are taken up for the purpose of refinancing, whereas 39.1% are for purchase purposes.
Furthermore, we believe that it is also really interesting to understand the demographics of the mortgage applicants. 64.6% of the applicants are aged between 31 to 50 years old, which is understandable considering that these are the ages of the main working population for Singaporeans. Nevertheless, second in place goes to those aged between 51 to 60 years old (25.2%), followed by the younger generation aged 21 to 30 years old (8.2%) while those aged 61 and above merely make up 2%. Simultaneously the gender breakdown of the applicants are surprisingly close, with 56.8% of them being males while 43.2% are females.
Finally, we will go through what are the favorites of these aforesaid mortgage applicants in terms of property types as well as banks. In terms of property types utilized for the mortgages, 71.1% are actually for the purchase or refinancing of condominiums/apartments. This is followed by the HDB flats which make up 22.3%, while the rest are landed properties (6.6%). On the other hand, as for banks, Standard Chartered Bank are the current kings of mortgage lenders, holding a majority of 28%. This may be due to their extremely attractive package rate such as their 1% interest rate for the first year of their Fixed Deposit mortgage plan or their Mortgage One scheme for private properties in 2017. OCBC is in second place making up 19% of mortgages, followed by Bank of China, DBS and UOB to make up the Top 5 banks with most popular home loan packages in Singapore. That sums up our findings for the mortgage market of 2017.
The team at Redbrick Mortgage Advisory has more than 60 years of banking experience and is proficient in structuring and sourcing for the best financing terms for both residential and commercial real estate in Singapore, Malaysia, USA, UK, Japan, Thailand and Australia.
