Government Eased Some Property Cooling Measures

With effect from 11 March, the government will implement changes to the Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) and Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, but will retain the current Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty rates and loan-to-value (LTV) limits, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of National Development on Friday (10 March).

The government will now reduce the holding period for imposing SSD from the current four years to three years. The SSD rate will also be lowered by four percentage points for each tier. The new rates will range from four percent for properties sold in the third year to 12 percent for those sold within the first year. This applies to residential properties purchased on or after 11 March 2017.

At the same time, the TDSR framework will no longer apply to mortgage equity withdrawal loans with LTV ratios of 50 percent and below. This comes after some borrowers shared that the TDSR framework limited their flexibility to monetise their properties in their retirement years.

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