Singapore, 27 Apr 2023 While higher additional buyer's stamp duties will dampen demand for investment properties, prices may not ease by much given that the hikes target a minority of buyers, analysts said on Thursday (Apr 27).
Late on Wednesday night, the government announced that additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) will be doubled to 60 per cent for foreigners buying any residential property.
"There could be more liquidity flowing from family offices as there have been some headline deals made by foreign buyers. Further, with the reopening of China’s borders, we expect more buying interest from mainland Chinese," said Ms Christine Sun, senior vice president of research & analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
Some analysts also pointed to supply issues. Ms Sun said the prices of homes may not drop significantly as supply remains low in the market and sellers have "holding power".