7 types of buyers in the market

1 SPECULATORS

These are the people who buy property with a view to flipping it to make a quick profit.

They have no intention of actually living in their property. As long as they can make money from the property, its design or layout is of little importance.

Some speculators have even bought units without bothering to step into the showflats, while others have sold homes only hours after buying them.

This is the group you can count on for the queues, blank cheques and recession-defying rise in prices.

They can continue playing the market as long as their actions do not get out of control.

2 SPECU-VESTORS

Coined in recent years, this term refers to those who buy to flip but can afford to hold on to their investment if necessary.

Property consultants use it to differentiate a new group of speculators with financial muscle from those who were active during the boom - or rather bubble - of 1996.

3 INVESTORS

Investors buy property with a long-term view. They intend to either rent it out to earn a regular monthly income, or sell it at the best time for capital appreciation.

Seasoned investors are likely to do their own research and consider more carefully than speculators the attributes of the property.

4 INVESTOR-OCCUPIERS

Such buyers are typically first-time investors. They do not mind staying in their property if they have problems selling or renting it out.

They may be risk-averse or have a marginal interest in investing, but nonetheless want to benefit from any rise in values.

5 OWNER-OCCUPIERS

Perhaps the pickiest of buyers, they are looking for a home to live in.

Timing is less of an issue for this group of buyers, given that their needs come first. They can take forever to find the right property.

During times of uncertainty, when investors prefer to stay on the sidelines, this is a group well-loved by sellers.

They are happy to sell in a rising market, even though they will usually have to buy a replacement property.

6 FOREIGN BUYERS

There are two groups of such buyers. One is made up largely of buyers from Malaysia and Indonesia who have long bought into the Singapore market.

They usually have family, friends or businesses here.

The other is made up largely of high-spending foreigners who were only recently attracted to Singapore because of its growth.

Although there is not much evidence at the present time, the second group of foreigners buys a property here for investment purposes, to speculate or as a second or third home.

These foreigners bought up a lot of the ultra-posh homes during the 2007 boom and were responsible for the previous high-end boom.

Obviously, property developers - particularly those with swanky projects in the pipeline - can't wait to welcome them back to Singapore.

7 PROPERTY AGENTS

There are as many as 30,000 agents in Singapore today. Although their job is to serve the types of buyers mentioned above, some of them cannot resist a good buy when they see one.

'It is not surprising that some agents invest as the agents are in the position to sniff out the best buys,' says ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim.

They get the first bite of the cherry at new launches - although not necessarily at a better price.

Source: Straits Times, 22 Aug 2009