Singapore property market cooling measures

19 Feb, 2010
1) Introduction of a Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) on all residential properties & lands that are sold within 1 year from the date of purchase :
i) SSD at 1% for the first $180,000,
ii) SSD at 2% for the next $180,000,
iii) SSD at 3% for the balance

2) Lowering Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit to 80% for all housing loans
MAS press release



30 Aug, 2010
1) Increase holding period for imposition of SSD from current 1 year to 3 years
i) if sold within the 1st year of purchase,full SSD rate will be imposed:
ii) if sold within the 2nd year of purchase, 2/3 of the full SSD rate will be imposed.
iii) if Sold within the 3rd year of purchase, 1/3 of the full SSD rate will be imposed.

2) For property buyers who already have one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase:
i) Increase the minimum cash payment to 10% (from 5%)
ii) Decrease LTV limit to 70% (from 80%).

HDB-related :
3) Allow households earning between $8k-$10k to buy new DBSS flats with a $30k CPF Housing Grant;

4) Increase the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) for non-subsidised flats to 5 years;

5) Disallow concurrent ownership of both HDB flats and private residential properties within the MOP
This is ONLY applicable for private property owners buying HDB
HDB owner buying private property will be subjected to existing restriction .ie. owner must stay in HDB and rent out private, not vice versa.
HDB press release
MAS press release



14 Jan, 2011
1) Increase holding period for imposition of SSD from current 3 years to 4 years

2) SSD rates will be increased as follows :
i) SSD at 16% if the property is sold in the 1st year of purchase
ii) SSD at 12% if the property is sold in the 2nd year of purchase
iii) SSD at 8% if the property is sold in the 3rd year of purchase
iv) SSD at 4% (currently no SSD) if the property is sold in the 4th year of purchase

3) Lower the LTV limit to 50% on for property purchasers who are not individuals

4) Lower the LTV limit to 60% (from 70%) for individuals with 1 or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase.
- Borrowers without any outstanding loans continue to have a LTV cap of 80%.
MAS press release




8 Dec, 2011
Introduction of an additional buyer's stamp duty (BSD), on top of existing BSD, on the purchase price or market value of the property (whichever is higher), with immediate effect.

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12 Jan, 2013

a) Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates will be raised :
- bet 5% and 7% points across the board.
- to include PRs purchasing their 1st residential property and on Singaporeans purchasing their 2nd residential property

b) Loan-to-Value limits on housing loans will be tightened for individuals who already have at least one outstanding loan, as well as to non-individuals such as companies.

c) Min cash down payment for individuals applying for a 2nd or subsequent housing loan will also be raised from 10% to 25%

d) HDB will offer housing loans with Mortgage Servicing Ratios (MSRs) of up-to-35% of the gross monthly income, down from prev up-to-40%
MSR for housing loans granted by financial institutions is capped at 30%

e) PR will be disallowed from subletting their whole flat, but can continue to sublet rooms

f) PR must dispose of their HDB flats within 6 mths of purchasing a a private residential property in Singapore

g) Limits on the use of CPF funds for the purchase of HDB flats with < 60 yrs of lease remaining
(effective 1-July-2013)

h) New EC measures
- max strata floor area of new EC units will be capped at 160 sqm.
- sales of new dual-key EC units will be restricted to multi-generational families only
- developers of future EC sale sites from GLS will only be allowed to launch units for sale 15 mths from the date of award of the sites, or after the physical completion of foundation works, whichever is earlier

i) Introduction of SSD on industrial property
- 15% will be applied for properties sold within the 1st year of purchase
- 10% will be applied for properties sold within the 2nd year of purchase
- 5% will be applied for properties sold within the 3rd year of purchase

The new ABSD structure is as follows:

Citizenship	ABSD Rate on 1st Purchase	ABSD Rate on 2nd Purchase	ABSD Rate on 3rd & Subsequent Purchase
Singapore Citizens	Existing: NA Revised: NA	Existing: NA Revised: 7%	Existing: 3% Revised: 10%
Permanent Residents	Existing: NA Revised: 5%	Existing: 3% Revised: 10%	Existing: 3% Revised: 10%
Foreigners and non-individuals (corporate entities)	Existing: 10% Revised: 15%	Existing: 10% Revised: 15%	Existing: 10% Revised: 15%

	1st Housing Loan	2nd Housing Loan	From 3rd Housing Loan
LTV Limit	Existing Rules 80%; or 60% if the loan tenure is more than 30 years or extends past age 65 Revised Rules No change	Existing Rules 60%; or 40% if the loan tenure is more than 30 years or extends past age 65 Revised Rules 50%; or 30% if the loan tenure is more than 30 years or extends past age 65	Existing Rules 60%; or 40% if the loan tenure is more than 30 years or extends past age 65 Revised Rules 40%; or 20% if the loan tenure is more than 30 years or extends past age 65
Minimum Cash Down Payment	Existing Rules 5% (for LTV of 80%) 10% (for LTV of 60%) Revised Rules No change	Existing Rules 10% Revised Rules 25%	Existing Rules 10% Revised Rules 25%
Non-Individual Borrowers	Existing LTV Limit 40% Revised LTV Limit 20%

29 Jun, 2013

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) introduced a Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework for all property loans granted by financial institutions (FIs) to individuals.

The new policy states that property loans extended to borrowers cannot exceed a TDSR of 60%. (ie. the total debt of borrowers cannot be more than 60% of their income)

Total debt will include mortgage repayments, and any other debts such as car loans, credit card debts and personal loans.

Eg.
Household combined income = $7,570
Based on TDSR of 60%, their total monthly debt (including mortgage loan repayments) cannot exceed $4,542 (60% of $7,570)

Assuming current monthly car loan installment = $1,500
Therefore maximum monthly mortgage repayment = $3,042 ($4,542 - $1,500)

And based on a 30-year housing loan @ 3.5%, maximum loan they can get = $677,438.
Assuming LTV of 80% (ie. 20% cash), maximum property price they can get = $846,797