Daily Archives: 14 Sep 2009

S’pore govt acts to cool property market

Singapore’s Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan has just announced measures for a ‘stable and sustainable property market’.

Among other things, his Ministry will resume selling land under the confirmed list in the first half of next year. Such land sales were suspended in October last year in the aftermath of the global financial crash. The Government will also include sites for executive condos, a hybrid between public and private housing, in the confirmed list to offer more housing choices.

Secondly, the Government is banning interest absorption scheme (IAS) and interest-only housing loans (IOL) with immediate effect, i.e. Sept 14, 2009. This measure will apply to all private residential projects. The only exception will be uncompleted private residential projects where units had already been offered for sale under IAS before Sept 14.

Interest-only housing loans will be disallowed with immediate effect. ‘These schemes could encourage property speculation in a buoyant market where prices are rising rapidly, as they are forms of housing loans that entirely eliminate or substantially lower regular instalment payments for property purchasers in the first few years before the properties are completed,’ a statement by the government said. Continue reading

S’pore shares fall on property clampdown

Singapore shares closed 1.54 per cent lower on Monday, dragged down by tumbling property stocks after the government announced new measures to curb real estate speculation.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index fell 41.29 points to 2,639.74 on volume of 2.40 billion shares worth $1.79 billion (US$1.25 billion). Decliners outnumbered risers 452 to 118, with 675 issues unchanged.

Property stocks led the decline after the government announced fresh measures to curb speculation in the red-hot real estate market, following warnings that a new bubble might be forming despite an economic slowdown.

Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of property advisers CB Richard Ellis in Singapore, said the key measures were curbs on bank lending to finance property purchases.

‘This would remove much of the speculative element from the burgeoning sales volume,’ Mr Li said.

Among property stocks, CapitaLand dropped 15 cents to $3.72, Keppel Land eased 17 cents to $2.66 and City Developments was down 84 cents to $10.24.

Banks also tumbled, with DBS falling 18 cents to $12.92, United Overseas Bank dropping 16 cents to $16.70 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp closing nine cents lower at $7.74.

Singapore Telecom was down four cents to $3.16 and Singapore Airlines ended 50 cents weaker at $12.96. — AFP

Source : Business Times – 14 Sep 2009