It is still “not time yet” to ease the measures that were put in place to cool the property market, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said on Friday (Oct 16).
Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Waterway Terraces BTO project in Punggol, Mr Wong said the price adjustments so far have been moderate compared to the increases in earlier years.
“We don’t want to risk a premature market rebound,” he said.
According to flash estimates from the HDB and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) earlier this month, home prices hit a two-year low in the third quarter of this year.
The easing of the cooling measures will also depend on several other indicators, Mr Wong said.
“We watch the situation very carefully, not just price indicators but a whole range of indicators – the economic situation, the situation overseas, whether the Fed (US Federal Reserve) is going to increase interest rates by how much, when, and our own domestic situation,” he added.
The cooling measures implemented by the Government have helped to stabilise the property market, and allowed for an orderly adjustment in prices towards a more sustainable market, Mr Wong said.
“We should let it continue,” he said.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 16 Oct 2015