Some wonder if they should wait and see if the recent cooling measures push down prices significantly The Government's latest round of measures to cool the residential property market was clearly targeted at short-term investors and speculators. Effective since Jan 14, they include the highly punitive stamp duties which apply to the resale of residential properties within four years of purchase, the...
singapore property
The Government's move to introduce a new set of property market cooling measures two weeks ago was widely anticipated but the harshness of the measures surprised many. The initial reaction from buyers was mixed. On the weekend immediately after the Jan 14 measures, buyers at Spottiswoode 18 snapped up 170 out of the 251 units launched, surprising many observers. The nonchalant reaction could be because...
The recent government cooling measures in Singapore's property market will bring down sales volume, but not to the extent of causing a significant fall in prices. According to a report by DTZ Research, sales volume is expected to fall as short-term speculators will be weeded out by the hefty seller's stamp duty of up to 16 per cent within the first year of purchase. However, the property consultancy said...
The outlook for Singapore’s private residential market is cautiously upbeat this year, as the number of new homes sold will likely taper off from last year’s high to a more sustainable level this year, possibly in the region of 10,000 units, said Colliers International. Overall private residential home prices will likely increase at a more moderate rate of five to eight percent this year. Mass market...
The surge in resale prices and number of transactions at Seletar Springs Condominium in December reflects the rising popularity of the quiet neighbourhood. Located on Gerald Drive, off Yio Chu Kang Road, the condo is in the vicinity of landed property, with Summer Villas strata terraced development across the road and Mugliston Park Estate next door. Developed by MCL Land, Seletar Springs is a 362-unit,...
Banks should take into account potentially higher interest rates in their credit assessments and not assume that the current low cost of funds will last indefinitely, the head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Friday, as he underlined the need to guard against the risks of asset bubbles. "Many parts of Asia in particular are vulnerable to property bubbles, not only because of current...
When the latest property measures were unveiled on Jan 13, it took most market watchers by surprise, mainly because we had been reassured several times that the previous rounds of measures announced on Aug 10 had been effective. Reaction from the local market has been negative but not too severe, as shown in a survey by property blog propwise.sg. Were these new measures necessary? Definitely. At the...
Government measures are most effective when they are unexpected. That was why I concluded last week that the single most effective move was not the measures themselves but the timing of their introduction. In economics, this topic is covered under the expectations theory. If the market expects the announcement, players will take positions that will nullify some of its effectiveness. Looking at the latest...
While the Government has to act to prevent the property market from getting beyond the reach of most Singaporeans, I am however not very comfortable that the latest steps - announced last week - are the best means of dealing with the issue. Not only are the measures fairly drastic, they appear to be dealing more with curbing demand than raising supply. The Government has claimed that there is no shortage...
Once living in the shadow of their inner-city and city fringe cousins, suburban residential properties are now stepping out on their own - with some of these properties located in more remote areas only accessible by feeder buses and light rail transit (LRT). And property experts say such mass market homes remain in high demand from owner-occupiers, who are unscathed by the new round of cooling measures...