“[I am] planning to sell my Hong Kong property and buy something in Singapore because the country is more stable and the currency is stronger,” said Jacky, who is in his late 30s. “It’s too messy in Hong Kong.”

Clarence Foo, an associate division director of real estate company ERA, said Hong Kong used to be a “strong option” for investors like Jacky, but not anymore.

“For these people, safety is a big issue,” said Foo. “They know they are not welcomed [and] now they are targeted. If you speak with a Chinese accent, you could potentially be beaten up.”

Lily Han, a Beijing-based investment consultant, said that the number of enquiries from mainlanders about Singapore property has surged by more than 30 per cent since June this year.

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There has been a “steady, increasing interest” in the city state, she said, adding that her firm has started to recommend Singapore as the “top investment destination” in Asia.

Shanghai-based relocation agent Michelle Gao has similarly noted an increase in enquiries of about 25 per cent since June, she said.

“Singapore has always been on the radar but it seems to be getting more attention now,” said Gao, who is the general manager of Gold Sharing Immigration Services.

About 80 per cent of Singapore’s 5.8 million population live in public flats that are only available for citizens and permanent residents, while the other 20 per cent live in private apartments, which are open to foreign buyers.

Gao said Singapore’s private property market continued to be popular with mainland Chinese, even though prices were relatively high compared to European nations. What they valued was political stability, she added.

Some in this growing group of mid-tier Chinese investors – typically armed with a budget of about 8 to 10 million yuan – are also looking to buy homes so their children can live in Singapore and study there.

One of them who goes by the name Cindy said Singapore’s education system was “suitable” for mainlanders primarily for its bilingual education policy, where a student has to learn a second language such as Chinese, Malay or Tamil on top of English – though foreign students tend to opt for the city state’s international schools, as they will need to sit for an admission test to enter a mainstream school, and vacancies there can be limited.

The Shanghai resident, who has a budget of around S$1.5 million said the perception was also that Chinese buyers were well-received in the city state.

Foo of ERA said that another reason why mainlanders were increasingly interested in Singapore property was the soaring property prices in China’s tier-one cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

“The days when they could double or triple their investment in China are long gone,” he said. “Singapore is the best place for them to park their money as they’d want to diversify where their money is.”

“The quantum is low but a lot of them realised that the actual returns are not as promised,” he said, adding that some countries in the region also face political and economic instability.

The fact that about 70 per cent of buyers in Singapore’s private property market are locals also drives demand, as buyers believe there will be a ready pool of demand should they wish to sell or rent their flats.

Singapore developers have made an effort to ramp up their marketing campaigns in Chinese cities, according to Foo.

However, Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield, said the growing appetite among China’s middle class for property investments had yet to translate into actual sales in Singapore.

Overall, Chinese transactions rose slightly from 243 in the second quarter to 272 in the third quarter but Li said mid-tier investors are typically budget conscious and are more sensitive to cooling measures compared to the ultra-rich.

Singapore’s latest measures to cool property prices took place in July last year when the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rate for foreigners was hiked by 5 percentage points to 20 per cent, after government data surfaced showing that private home prices had risen to a four-year high.

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Foo added that there was a possibility buyers were expecting the Singapore government to lower ABSD rates next year. The country is facing a private property glut, with an overhang of 31,948 units at the end of September, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Developers have since called for property curbs to be eased.

Li noted, however, that transactions by ultra-rich Chinese remained strong.

“The total number of Chinese transactions above S$5 million in [the third quarter] of 2019 has almost doubled to 40, compared to 21 in 2018,” she said.

Christine Sun, head of research at OrangeTee & Tie Property, said she had seen a similar trend, with mid-tier buyers accounting for 51.7 per cent of transaction on properties in the range of S$1 to 3 million in the first 11 months of this year, slightly down from 52.5 per cent over the same period last year.

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Foo added that mainland Chinese would likely seize the upcoming Lunar New Year break to visit Singapore and view property.

Sun also expressed confidence that more Chinese capital would flow south into Singapore.

“Furthermore, mortgage rates may remain low or clock in even lower next year, which may [lead] housing demand to ‘cruise’ at current levels,” she said.

“We expect mainland Chinese buyers to continue streaming into Singapore. We estimate that between 9,000 and 9,800 new homes, excluding executive condominiums, could be transacted in 2020.”