“Singapore Govt ‘not averse’ to more property cooling measures if necessary: Desmond Lee” - that was the title of a Straits Times article published last Friday (Jan 17). A few questions pop up in my mind: - Were HDB property cooling measures effective? - Did private property cooling measures work? - Is new property curb a self-fulfilling prophecy? - Do we want property … [Read more...]
Why private home buyers aren’t buying now
The pool of private home buyers is fast shrinking in the current property market. While HDB resale flat prices are on the rise, why are HDB owners not upgrading? Other countries are fighting hard to avoid slipping into recession. In contrast, the economy of Singapore still looks fine at least on the surface. Where have all the private home buyers gone? Private home sales … [Read more...]
New cooling measures is a waiting game
On September 29 (Thursday) evening, the government announced new property cooling measures again. The new rules aimed to moderate demand and ensure prudent borrowing amid rising interest rates. They were also meant to address the public concern of rising home prices and to improve housing affordability. While industry stakeholders and homebuyers were caught by surprise, some … [Read more...]
Property cooling measures, here we go again!
Yesterday (December 15) right before midnight, the government announced new property cooling measures, with higher ABSD (Additional Buyer's Stamp Duties), lowered LTV (Loan-to-Value) and tightened TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio). The predictable pattern to impose new curbs We had the last round of cooling measures just three years ago in July 2018. Let's recall the … [Read more...]
Will the cooling new sales market be frozen 2?
To divert public attention from the recent hot topic of supply glut in the property market, The Straits Times made use of November’s new sales to give developers a face-saving headline: “New private home sales rebound in November amid supply glut: URA data”. (The Straits Times, Dec 16) The article said “Excluding ECs, developers sold 1,147 units last month, 23.2 percent more … [Read more...]