INDONESIANS retreated from the luxury home market in the first quarter to a much greater extent than buyers from mainland Chinese, India and the United States.

DTZ Research said on Wednesday that Indonesian buyers bought 11 resold homes costing over $5 million in the three months to Mar 31, down from the 22 purchases made in the last quarter of 2012 - a fall of 50 per cent.

Chinese buyers, who were the most represented foreign nationality in this segment, made 14 transactions, down 12.5 per cent from the preceding quarter.

Buyers from India bought two resale homes worth over $5 million in the quarter, down 60 per cent from five purchases in the preceding three months.

American buyers bought five properties, up from just two in in the previous three months - a rise of 150 per cent.

US buyers do not have to pay the 15 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty imposed on foreigners buying private property here due to clauses in the free trade deal the country has with Singapore.

Overall, the absolute number of resale transactions shrank in January through March, but the drop was the smallest for foreign buyers.

Foreign purchases in the resale market dropped 19.8 per cent from the preceding quarter while transactions by Singaporeans declined 44.4 per cent and those by Permanent Residents fell 40.5 per cent.