Property Market Update

The Government announced 2 measures to ensure a stable and sustainable property market:

1. Introducing a Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) on all residential properties and residential lands that are bought and sold within 1 year from the date of purchase

• The SSD will be levied on sellers of residential properties and lands bought on or after 20 Feb 2010, and sold within one year from the date of purchase.
• The objective of this new tax measure is to discourage short-term speculative activity that could distort underlying prices. It is not targeted at the purchase of properties for owner-occupation or longer term investment.

2. Lowering the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit to 80% for all housing loans provided by financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

• The LTV limit will be lowered from 90% to 80% for all housing loans provided by financial institutions regulated by the MAS. The 80% LTV limit will apply to all housing loans granted by financial institutions for private residential properties, Executive Condominiums, HUDC flats and HDB flats (including those under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme, or DBSS flats).
• Lowering the LTV limit sends a clear signal to the financial institutions to maintain credit standards, and encourages greater financial prudence among property purchasers.