Latest figures from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) indicate that the government’s cooling measures have been positive. It suggests that consumers with existing home loans are unlikely to apply for more, while those without current mortgages account for a higher share of the private home loans market.
The recent measures include lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratios for home buyers with existing mortgages.
In addition, the seller’s stamp duty (SSD) which aims to curb property speculation as well as the ABSD (additional buyer’s stamp duty) could have also dented property investment, resulting in a higher proportion of first-loan cases.
According to CBS’ data, 58.3 percent of the 15,410 Singaporeans/permanent residents (PRs) who were granted private home loans (including refinancing cases) for Q1 2012 did not have outstanding mortgages for either private residential property or HDB flats. The figure is notably higher than the 56.4 percent for 2011 and 53 percent for 2010.
Meanwhile, the proportion of second- and third-loan cases among Singaporeans and PRs who were granted private home loans also declined.
The analysis is based on private home loan data provided by 16 of CBS’ 26 member banks.
Source : PropertyGuru – 2012 May 28