The Singapore government is looking out for possible bubbles particularly in the property market, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
“We periodically act pre-emptively to let some air out of property bubbles before they burst with a bang,” he said at a panel discussion in the United States last week.
He added that direct and targeted measures have proven effective in cooling down the property market.
These measures include the implementation of stamp duty to owners who sell their homes within three years of acquiring them, as well as lowering the maximum loans available for second home purchases.
However, “broad monetary policy actions may not be best suited since they can be blunt, and if applied too aggressively, can have unintended negative effects on the entire economy,” he said.