2009 Singapore Cooling Measures
14 September 2009
– Interest Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest-Only Housing Loans (IOL) programs were abolished
2010 Singapore Cooling Measures
20 February 2010
– Introduction of Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) for properties sold within 1 year of purchase, this was up to 3% of the sales price
– Lowered the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) to 80% for all housing loans
30 August 2010
– SSD holding period increased to properties sold within 3 years of purchase, which resulted in the following
– 3% for properties sold within the first year
– 2% for 2 years
– 1% for 3 years
– For buyers that have more than one outstanding loan (including HDB) the minimum cash downpayment was increased from 5% to 20% of the purchase price
– LTV lowered from 80% to 70%
2011 Singapore Cooling Measures
14 January 2011
– SSD increased to 4 years, with higher tax as follows
– 16% for properties sold within the first year
– 12% for 2 years
– 8% for 3 years
– 4% for 4 years
– LTV was lowered to 50% for purchases that were not individuals or households
– For individuals and households with one or more outstanding loans, the LTV was lowered to 60%
8 December 2011
– Additional 10% duty for foreigners implemented
– Permanent Residents (PR) that are buying the second and subsequent property will have to pay ABSD of 3%
– Singapore Citizens (SC) that own two properties and are buying their third and subsequent properties have to pay ABSD of 3%
– How the ABSD is computed is as follows:
– 1% on the first $180,000
– 2% on the next $180,000
– 3% on the remainder
2012 Singapore Cooling Measures
6 October 2012
– Max tenure of residential loans was capped at 35 years
– Loans with terms in excess of 30 years would have higher LTV requirements, for both HDB and private properties
2013 Singapore Cooling Measures
12 January 2013
– PRs first property will now have a 5% ABSD
– Second property at 10% ABSD
– SC second property at 7% ABSD
– Third property at 10% ABSD
– Foreigners and company 15% ABSD
– LTV rates were tighter, if second housing loan this is at 50%
– For third housing loan this was set at 40%
– For housing loan tenures past 30 years this was even stricter at 30% and 20% respectively
– Minimum cash downpayment for individuals applying for a second and subsequent housing loan raised to 25% from 10%
There were also measures specific to HDB
– Introduction of Mortgage Service Ratio (MSR) for HDB loans and refinancings
– This means for private loans this is capped at 30% of a borrower’s gross monthly income
– For HDB loans this is lowered from 40% to 35%
– PRs that own a HDB flat will not be allowed to sublet their whole flat
– PRs that own a HDB flat must sell it within six months of purchasing a private property in Singapore
29 June 2013
– Introduction of Total Debt Service Ratio (TDSR) that is capped at 60% for housing loans for local and overseas properties
– For join borrowers, banks must use the income-weighted average age of borrowers when applying for a housing loan
28 August 2013
– Maximum HDB loan tenure reduced from 35 to 30 years
9 December 2013
– Reduction of cancellation fees for ECs from 20% to 5% to relive financial burden of buyers
– Second-timer applicants who buy EC units direct from developers will now have to pay a resale levy
– MSR for housing loans for EC bought direct from developers will be capped at 30%
This was the last round of cooling measures for some time until 2017.
2017 Singapore Cooling Measures
10 March 2017
– Revision of SSD to a 3 year holding period, instead of 4 years previously
– SSD rates will be lower by 4% for each tier, so it will began from 12% for properties sold in the first year, to 4% for properties sold in the third year
– TDSR will no longer be applied to mortgage equity withdrawal loans with LTV ratios of 50% and below
2018 Singapore Cooling Measures
6 July 2018
Buyers stamp duty
First $180,000 1%
Next $180,000 2%
Next $640,000 3%
Remaining Amount 4%
SC buying second residential property of $1 million
Before
Buyers stamp duty = $24,600
Additional buyer stamp duty (7%) = $70,000
Total stamp duty = $94,600
After this new round of cooling measures
Buyers stamp duty = $24,600
Additional buyer stamp duty (12%) = $120,000
Total stamp duty = $144,600
This means an increase of $50,000 in ABSD rates.
