The era of ultra-easy money is drawing to an end for Singapore mortgage holders, with domestic interest rates rising at their fastest pace in a decade in a country that already ranks among the world's most expensive places to live. The three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor), used to set floating-rate mortgages, climbed to 0.78756 per cent today (March 3). It has gained 33 basis points so...
Finance
The three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) continued to push higher on Monday (Feb 2), touching 0.67863 per cent. SIBOR is a key interest rate that housing loans in Singapore are pegged to and it has been on an upward trend since the end of last year. Expectations are that home buyers may have to service higher monthly mortgages, and industry watchers have said this could reduce...
The Republic’s banks are expected to weather the correction in the city-state's home prices as household debts are low relative to assets, Fitch Ratings said in a commentary on Friday (Jan 30). Fitch also said local banks DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) have healthy loss-absorption buffers, which will help them weather a significant rise in credit costs. The...
More homeowners who took housing loans from banks are now looking for refinancing options. Loan specialists said they have been getting more inquiries since the recent spike in SIBOR (Singapore Interbank Offered Rate). Homeowners - whose mortgages are tied to SIBOR - are now facing higher monthly payments. One of those affected is 30-year-old engineer Lai Ming Kwan, who bought an executive condominium...
The three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) reached 0.63 per cent on Wednesday (Jan 7), compared to 0.45 per cent on Jan 2. SIBOR is a key benchmark used to determine various lending rates. While the recent increase may signal the end of low interest rates, analysts said that for now, SIBOR remains well below historical levels. At 0.63 per cent, the three-month SIBOR is now at its...
A key interest rate that housing loans in Singapore are pegged to rose marginally on Wednesday (Jan 7), following two days of sharp increases. Bloomberg data showed the three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) was fixed at 0.63707 per cent at 11.30 am on Wednesday, up slightly from Tuesday's fixing of 0.62052 per cent. The interest rate benchmark had jumped 7.4 per cent on Tuesday...
Home owners may face higher mortgage payments, following recent hikes in a key benchmark interest rate that housing loans in Singapore are based on. According to data from Bloomberg, the three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) was fixed at 0.62 per cent on Tuesday (Jan 6). This is up from 0.57 per cent on Monday. Last Friday, it was around 0.45 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent in...
One way to help owners of private housing monetise their property for retirement is to relaunch the reverse mortgage scheme, which was first introduced eight years ago. Although it did not meet with much success at the time, property analysts say more elderly home owners could be attracted to the scheme if it ensures good payouts. Under a reverse mortgage, the owner retains the full lease of the...
Hit by repeated rounds of cooling measures and loan restrictions, the housing market has emerged as a concern for Singapore’s banks, with loans to the sector and new mortgage applications slowing. Housing and bridging loans expanded 7.9 per cent in March to S$168.9 billion from S$156.6 billion a year earlier, central bank data showed yesterday. However, this compares with a compound annual growth rate...
The National Development Ministry (MND) will study whether reverse mortgages should be provided by the private market or by the government in future. A reverse mortgage is a loan taken up by the owner using his property as collateral. This loan is then repaid with interest upon termination of the loan, or death, typically from the sales proceeds of the property. In Parliament on Monday, the...