Tag Archives: Singapore Property Market

Singapore mortgage data shows cooling measures work

Posted on 29 May 2012 | Comments Off on Singapore mortgage data shows cooling measures work

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

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Posted in Cooling Measures, Loan / Mortgage / Finance, Property Market / Real Estate

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Chinese no longer the top foreign property buyers in Singapore

Posted on 29 May 2012 | Comments Off on Chinese no longer the top foreign property buyers in Singapore

Chinese buyers have lost out to Malaysians, who reclaimed top spot among foreigners buying Singapore properties despite the tough cooling measures introduced in December last year.

A report by DTZ Research revealed that the Chinese, including permanent residents (PRs), purchased 292 homes in Q1, down 54 percent from the 640 homes acquired in Q4 2011 – the lowest number in over two years.

This means that the proportion of Chinese buyers relative to non-Singaporeans fell to 23 percent from 29 percent last quarter, making it the lowest drop among all nationalities.

On the other hand, Malaysians had a high of 362 transactions, marking a 28 percent share among foreign buyers due to the larger number of Malaysian PRs in the country.

The latest measures include a 10 percent ABSD (additional buyer’s stamp duty) on all home purchases by foreigners. Meanwhile, PRs need to pay an extra three percent on their second and subsequent home purchases.

Consequently, demand from non-PR foreigners fell 75 percent to 336 units. Their proportion of the private market fell to a three- year low of six percent. PRs took a 16 percent share while Singaporeans made up the remaining 78 percent.

DTZ noted that the decline in proportion of foreign purchases post-ABSD was more drastic compared to 17 years ago when another major policy change was rolled out.

Back in Q3 1996, foreign purchases fell by a smaller margin of 57 percent, following the government’s restriction on the extension of loans to PRs and foreigners.

Source : PropertyGuru – 2012 May 28

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Posted in General, Property Market / Real Estate

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