With interest rates at a low, investors have few options other than property
CALIBRATION seems to be the operative word in the set of measures announced by the government yesterday to ensure a ‘stable and sustainable property market’.
‘The measures are pretty measured, actually,’ a developer said.
That may be fitting. After all, as National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan noted, while the level of speculation is not yet extreme, the package will help pre-empt excesssive price swings.
The government has taken relatively small steps to try and cool the buying frenzy now, which if left unchecked could develop into a full-blown property bubble that will take more draconian measures to prick – as we saw in the historic May 1996 anti-speculation curbs.
These included taxing as income the gains from selling properties within three years of their purchase, slapping stamp duty on those who sell their residential properties within three years of purchase, limiting permanent residents to just one Singapore dollar housing loan each and banning such loans to non-PR foreigners. Continue reading
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