Government Policies relating to Property Market 2009 - Jan 2013

Singapore's Property Market Cooling Measures and Government Policies

Source: SLP International Property Consultants (2011); “Property Herald, 4Q2011”

Announcement Date	Summary of Government Property Market Curbs & Government Policy
14 Sep 2009	·         Removed Interest – Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest – Only Housing Loans
19 Feb 2010	·         New Sellers’ Stamp Duty (SSD): 1% - 3% if sold in year 1 ·         Loan to value (LTV) lowered from 90% to 80% ·         Increased number of residential sites for sale in GLS program
30 Aug 2010	·         LTV (2nd mortgage) lowered from 80% to 70% ·         Sellers’ Stamp Duty imposed increased from 1 year to 3 years from which property is bought ·         Increased minimum cash payment from 5% to 10% for buyers with outstanding loans ·         HDB Minimum Occupation period increased from 3 years to 5 years ·         Concurrent ownership of HDB flats and private residential property within the 5-year MOP is disallowed
13 Jan 2011	·         LTV (2nd mortgage) lowered from 70% to 60% ·         LTV (2nd mortgage) lowered from 70% to 50% for non-individual property purchasers ·         Sellers’ Stamp Duty of 16%, 12%, 8% and 4% for private homes bought and sold within 1 year, 2 years, 3 years and 4 years respectively.
15 Aug 2011	·         HDB income ceiling raised to $10,000 from $8,000 ·         EC income ceiling raised to $12,000 from $10,000
7 Dec 2011	·         Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty imposed ·         Singapore citizen: 3% ABSD for the 3rd and subsequent residential property purchase ·         Permanent Resident: 3% for the 2nd and subsequent residential property purchases ·         Non-resident foreigner and corporate entity: 10% ABSD for all residential property purchases
5 Oct 2012	·         Tenure of all loans for residential property is capped at 35 years. This will apply to loans to both individual and non-individual borrowers, as well as refinancing loans, from 6 October 2012 ·         LTV ratio for new residential property loans to borrowers who are individuals, if the tenure exceeds 30 years; or if the loan period extends beyond the retirement age of 65 years. For these loans, the LTV limit will be: ·         40% for a borrower with one or more outstanding residential property loanss; and ·         60% for a borrower with no outstanding residential property loan.
12 Jan 2013	·         Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty imposed on, (i) PRs purchasing their first residential property at 5%; (ii) Singaporeans purchasing their second residential property at 7%. ·         LTV lowered for (i) individuals obtaining a second housing loan to 50%, (ii) individuals obtaining third or subsequent housing loans to 40%, (iii) non-individual borrowers to 20%. ·         Minimum cash down payment for individuals applying for a second or subsequent housing loan increased from 10% to 25%. ·         HDB will offer housing loans with mortgage servicing ratios (MSR) of up to 35% of gross monthly income, down from 40%. For loans granted by financial institutions, MSR is set at 30%. ·         PR households will be disallowed from subletting their whole HDB flat. ·         PR households must dispose of their HDB flats within 6 months of purchasing a private residential property in Singapore.