Completed condo prices up 0.1%

Posted on 1 Mar 2016 | Comments Off on Completed condo prices up 0.1%

Prices of completed condominiums edged up by 0.1 percent in January 2016 compared to the previous month, according to latest flash estimates of the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI).

Based on the Index, prices of completed units in the central region (districts 1 to 4 and 9 to 11) dipped by 0.5 percent, while those in the non-central region rose by 0.5 percent. As for small units measuring up to 506 sq ft, prices climbed by 0.6 percent.

In comparison, the revised index for December 2015 shows that prices in all three segments fell on a month-on-month basis. Values in the central region fell by 0.8 percent, those in the non-central region posted a smaller decline of 0.6 percent, while prices of small units decreased by 0.3 percent. Consequently, prices across the island slid by 0.6 percent.

Notably, the revised index for December is based on the previous Basket 7, which covers a total of 78,877 units across 429 private non-landed developments in 26 postal districts completed from October 2003 to December 2013.

On the other hand, the flash estimates for January were derived from the current Basket 8, which covers a total of 111,811 units across 574 residential projects completed between October 2003 and September 2015.

According to a statement from the NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES), Basket 8 includes newer projects with better quality amenities compared to the previous basket. It also tracks 7,120 small units versus 3,092 units for Basket 7.

The usage of the new basket took effect on Monday (29 Feb), and the composition will be adjusted every two years.

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Still too early to remove cooling measures

Posted on 1 Mar 2016 | Comments Off on Still too early to remove cooling measures

It is premature to lift the property cooling measures as it could undo the government’s efforts to make home prices affordable, revealed National Development Minister Lawrence Wong during a parliamentary session on Monday (29 Feb), and reported Channel NewsAsia.

He was responding to a query from Holland Bukit-Timah GRC MP Christopher de Souza, who asked if the authorities would consider scrapping the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for Singaporeans, but keep it for foreigners.

Mr de Souza first proposed the idea in Parliament in January this year.

“The ABSD was introduced to moderate the demand for residential property from investors, non-citizens and corporate entities,” said Mr Wong in a written reply.

“Singapore citizens who do not own any residential property do not need to pay (any) ABSD,” he added.

Currently, Singaporean citizens need to pay a stamp duty of seven percent when they buy a second home. This rises to 10 percent for their third and subsequent purchases.

On the other hand, foreigners have to fork out a heftier ABSD of 15 percent, regardless of whether they are first-time buyers or landlords with multiple properties in Singapore.

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