&#34;After all, the media reports these private residential sales news every day, causing buyers to develop a fear of missing out (FOMO).&#34;
Recently, at a real estate-related event, when discussing the hot situation of the Singapore property market with attendees, one person pointed the finger at the media, believing that reporters' coverage is overly biased towards real estate developers and analysts, creating an optimistic sentiment that the property market is booming and prices will continue to rise. This has also influenced buyers' decisions to purchase homes, with concerns that &#34;if they miss this opportunity, the next chance will be even more expensive.&#34;
Hearing such a statement, I could only respond helplessly: &#34;The fact is, the property market is really hot right now, not even the Iran war can suppress it.&#34;
At the end of February, the Iran war broke out, and the global market subsequently faced a Black Monday, with the Straits Times Index in Singapore plummeting by 104.21 points, and Singapore Airlines' stock price dropping nearly 7%.
I thought that the sales performance of the private residential project River Modern launched that weekend would be affected, but unexpectedly, it still sold well, with 90% or 410 units sold in the first weekend, and the selling prices were not low, with an average price per square foot of SGD 3,266, and the highest price per square foot even reaching SGD 3,693.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2026/03/29/RIVELLE20Sales20Gallery201.jpg/query-MTAyNw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2026/03/29/RIVELLE20Sales20Gallery201.jpg/query-MTAyNw"/>
This year, the second executive condominium project, Rivelle Tampines, was launched for sale, achieving over 90% sales success. (Provided by Sennett Group)
Last weekend, the second executive condominium (EC) project, Rivelle Tampines, was launched for sale, again achieving over 90% sales success. Its average selling price per square foot was SGD 1,893, surpassing the previous record of SGD 1,766 set by Aurelle of Tampines.
It is no longer surprising that EC prices have reached new highs; what is astonishing is the speed and magnitude of the increase.
Just over two years ago, the EC price record was only SGD 1,433 for Altura, and now it has reached nearly SGD 1,900, an increase of over 30%. Based on this trend, it is estimated that it won't be long before EC prices reach SGD 2,000.
<h3>Rising Global Uncertainty Highlights Our Country's Safe-Haven Value</h3>
Generally, wars inevitably impact the global economy, especially the Iran war leading to rising oil prices, causing inflation and interest rates to rise, shaking consumer confidence, and potentially leading to more layoffs and business closures.
Even optimists would adopt a more cautious attitude when it comes to investments involving large sums, such as real estate.
However, what supports the confidence of Singaporean buyers, making everyone so certain that the Middle East situation will not negatively affect the local property market, and that private residential prices will continue to rise?
Analysts point out that as global uncertainties increase, Singapore's &#34;safe haven&#34; attribute becomes more pronounced, attracting global capital and wealthy individuals.
Li Sid, Senior Data Analytics Director at Huttons, stated: &#34;The geopolitical tensions in other parts of the world highlight the importance of stability and enhance Singapore's status as a safe haven. These tensions disrupt the stock market, leading to significant volatility. Some buyers may consider these factors and believe that investing in stable assets like real estate may be a better choice.&#34;
According to a report by Bloomberg last month, last year, ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia injected up to SGD 77 billion into Singapore's three major banks, namely DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, and UOB. This influx of capital stems from the tensions in US-China relations, escalating geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, and the uneven economic growth in China, leading Asian billionaires to continue favoring Singapore as a safe asset haven.
In other words, for many, the more chaotic the global situation, the more Singapore can benefit, attracting more wealth inflows, with more wealthy individuals purchasing luxury homes locally to achieve capital preservation.
However, this perspective overlooks the interconnected nature of global markets.
When wars severely damage the global economy, Singapore cannot remain unaffected. While it may benefit, it is only relatively better in the short term. Overall, wars will still lead to a global economic downturn, and if the conflict persists for a long time or spreads to other countries, the confidence of the wealthy in purchasing property in Singapore will still be undermined.
<h4>Further Reading</h4>
Local real estate market shows strong growth with impressive performance; Middle East situation may temper upward momentum

 DBS: Middle East conflict promotes safe-haven capital inflow, supporting deposit growth


Speaking of the luxury housing market, a recent real estate news that has attracted significant market attention is that the Regent of Johor, Ismail, submitted a development application to our government, planning to build low-density residential and good class bungalows (GCB) on his land located on Holland Road.
Analysts estimate that this piece of land is expected to accommodate 2,700 residential units, or about 100 to 200 landed houses including good class bungalows, with the land value anticipated to exceed SGD 3.8 billion. It could even give rise to a brand new good class bungalow area.
Additionally, the permanent leasehold project Nassim Quattro located on Nassim Road has been re-launched at a price of up to SGD 7,004 per square foot. Once sold, it will break the record of SGD 6,650 per square foot set by The Marq on Paterson Hill in 2011.
Data from List Sotheby’s International Realty shows that as of February 13 this year, there were a total of 46 luxury apartments sold in the core central region priced at SGD 5 million and above, with almost a transaction occurring every day.
Such a hot property market makes one feel as if they are in a booming bull market, making it hard to imagine that this is happening during a time of ongoing wars in the Middle East, global trade impacts from tariff wars, and the severe challenges posed by artificial intelligence potentially reshaping jobs.
Crisis? Where is the crisis? This seems more like a rare investment opportunity.
The media has never been, nor could it ever be, the instigator of heightened enthusiasm in the property market; it is the greed and anxiety of buyers that drive it.
The current property market is like a car that is speeding up; even if the government tries various measures and increases land supply, such as raising the buyer's stamp duty rate by four percentage points last year, and maintaining a high level of nearly 10,000 units in total private residential supply for the year, throwing &#34;gravel&#34; into the wheels to increase friction, its speed still shows no signs of slowing down
Even war cannot suppress it.
Today, many economists predict that if energy prices remain high and unemployment rates stay stable, the Federal Reserve may propose an interest rate hike at its April meeting. Most economists in our country also believe that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will tighten monetary policy in April, accelerating the appreciation of the Singapore dollar.
<h3>With the dust of war still unsettled, buyers should not rush to invest</h3>
Rising interest rates typically increase the repayment burden on homebuyers and weaken purchasing power, leading to a decline in real estate demand, which in turn puts downward pressure on housing prices.
Perhaps our memories of war are too distant, and we have forgotten the impact it brings to the housing market.
In 2001, the United States launched the war in Afghanistan, and that year, private home prices in our country plummeted by 11.7%, including many developers who initiated a series of &#34;last-minute&#34; price cuts in December.
Compared to the peak in mid-1996, housing prices in 2001 fell by 35%. This downward trend continued for three years, until private home prices slightly rebounded by 0.9% in 2004.
It is worth mentioning that many optimists at the time believed that the war in Afghanistan would end in just six weeks, like the Gulf War in 1990, but the U.S. ended up fighting for 20 years, until the withdrawal in 2021.
Will the current war in Iran replay the situation of the Afghan war?
I hope not, and I also hope that before the dust of this raging war settles, buyers remain clear-headed and do not rush into a real estate investment &#34;battle.&#34;

The Singapore real estate market remains hot amidst global turmoil, attracting a significant influx of wealth. Despite media reports potentially causing buyers to experience fear of missing out (FOMO), several luxury projects have still sold exceptionally well recently, with sales performance exceeding expectations. For example, River Valley sold 90% of its units on the first weekend after the outbreak of the Iran war, with an average price per square foot reaching SGD 3,266. Another project, Lakeview Residence, also achieved over 90% sales success, with an average price per square foot of SGD 1,893, demonstrating strong market demand and a trend of rising prices

Zhou Wenlong: The enthusiasm for the real estate market that cannot be suppressed even by the Iran war | Lianhe Zaobao