This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Singaporean Government has made a raft of measures aimed at maintaining a stable property market.
Under the changes, the government will increase the holding period for imposition of Seller’s Stamp Duty from the current one year to three years.
For property buyers who already have one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase, there will be an increase the minimum cash payment from 5% to 10% of the valuation limit and a decrease the Loan-to-Value limit for housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by MAS to these buyers from the current 80% to 70%.
The measures will take immediate effect on 30 August 2010.
The government said the objective is to ensure a stable and sustainable property market where prices move in line with economic fundamentals.
“The property market is currently very buoyant. While the rate of price increase of private residential properties has moderated in the last 3 quarters, prices have still increased significantly by 11% in the first half of 2010, and price levels have now exceeded the historical peak in the second quarter of 1996.
“While Singapore has enjoyed strong economic growth in the first half of 2010, our economic growth is expected to moderate in the second half of the year. There are also still uncertainties in the global economy,” the government said in a statement.
“Should economic growth falter and the market corrects, property buyers could face capital losses, with implications on their own finances and the economy as a whole. Moreover, the current low global interest rate environment will not continue indefinitely, and higher interest rates could have severe implications for buyers who have overextended themselves.
“Therefore, the Government has decided to introduce additional measures now to temper sentiments and encourage greater financial prudence among property purchasers,”
Australian Property Journal
