With the robust property sales seen in January, some netizens have proposed that the 10 percent additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) be increased.
Over at the Parc Rosewood condo development, more than 165 of the 236 units released were snapped up and there’s also been strong take-up seen at Watertown.
A PropertyGuru reader said that “by imposing 10 percent ABSD on foreigners, there was eight to 10 percent discount for new launches. We should consider a 20 percent ABSD for foreigners so that locals can benefit.”
Another reader said that “this shows there is still demand from locals. Raise ABSD for foreigners to 20 percent.”
However, a story carried by PropertyGuru yesterday highlighted that foreign share in private home sales dropped significantly in January; with caveat analysis of DTZ Research showing that the number of foreign buyers stood at only three percent last month, down from 23 percent in December.
For now, analysts believe the ABSD should not be increased.
Getty Goh, founder of Ascendant Assets Pte Ltd, said, “The comments made are a knee-jerk reaction to the high home sales for January.”
He noted that increasing the ABSD would “kill the market”, as it has barely been two months after the cooling measures were introduced.
On the topic of property discounts, Goh said, “Developers are in the business of making money and they provide good rebates to move their units.” He added that “the situation of rebates won’t last too long.”
In addition, Carolyn Goh, Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager at PropNex noted that more research needs to be done on the market.
“The introduction of the ABSD has indeed affected foreign buying sentiment. The ABSD does not impact Singaporeans so we need to look at who these buyers are before making changes to the ABSD.”
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