Singapore, 27 Apr 2023 ADJUSTMENTS to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates for residential properties will take effect on Thursday (Apr 27) as part of the Singapore government’s cooling measures to manage investment demand.
For Singapore citizens, ABSD will be raised to 20 per cent from 17 per cent for the purchase of their second property, and to 30 per cent from 25 per cent for their third and subsequent properties.
Here are some quick takes from property analysts on the hikes for residential property ABSD:
Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics
“The increase in ABSD will reduce investment demand. In the long run, the number of homes bought for rental income may reduce, further impacting the private rental market. However, other asset classes may benefit as investors may divert their money to non-residential investments.”
“When volume is low and purchase sentiment declines, it may lead to lesser supply in the market, as sellers and developers may choose to withhold their sales and wait for a better opportunity to sell. Therefore, prices of homes may still not drop significantly as supply remains low in the market and sellers have holding power.”
“The ‘cooling measures’ have turned into ‘freezing measures’ for foreign buyers (non-PRs) as ABSD has doubled for these buyers and most will find the rates to be high. Many foreigners have already been affected by the previous hike, where ABSD was raised to 30 per cent on Dec 16, 2021. With the ABSD rate adjustments, we can expect purchases of non-PRs to drop further.”