The cooling measures are intended to keep the housing market stable and sustainable, encourage financial prudence among homebuyers and moderate property prices, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said in parliament yesterday.
Statements were made in reply to a query on whether some of the curbs can be lifted so that Singaporeans who meet the total debt obligation cap of 60 percent can upgrade their properties.
Mr Khaw said various concessions are already in place to benefit upgraders: “For example, Singaporean married couples can enjoy a refund on Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) if they sell their existing home within a stipulated period after the purchase of their second home.”
Similarly, upgraders may qualify for the highest Loan-To-Value (LTV) limit of 80 percent on their second loan if they are able to provide documents to show the bank that they will be selling their existing home; enabling them to be treated as a borrower with no outstanding housing loans.
“The existing concessions are reasonable and sufficient. Any move to relax the cooling measures, including by broadening these concessions, is premature under current market conditions. Such a move could lead to an upswing in demand, which would increase the number of transactions and raise housing prices. This would not be welcome to Singaporean homebuyers, particularly those with aspirations to upgrade,” he added.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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