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Like many other products, our property market caters to a variety of tastes and pockets.
Even the Housing and Development Board, the Government-owned body which builds homes for the masses, provides for different segments of the market - from one-room flats to executive condominiums which have all the amenities of private housing like swimming pools and tennis courts.
But recent measures to cool rising prices tend to have an impact on all sectors of the market. Shouldn't they be better calibrated to impact only those sectors where affordability is an issue?
For instance, under new measures which came into force towards the end of last year, foreigners and corporate entities will have to pay an additional 10 per cent in stamp duty for their residential property purchases.
Permanent residents owning one and buying the second and subsequent residential property will have to fork out an additional 3 per cent in stamp duties. Singapore citizens owning two and buying additional homes will also have to pay this extra.
These levies are meant to dampen demand and bring residential property prices down. They, and other earlier measures introduced for the same purpose, appear so far to have had a very limited impact on prices.
In fact in the last two months, according to data put out by some property agencies, prices of both private homes and housing board resale flats have shown an upward trend.
Conversely, sales of property in the ultra luxurious sector of the market appear to have seen a significant slowdown.
- http://www.todayonline.com/Commenta...y/EDC120618-0000012/One-size-does-not-fit-all
Even the Housing and Development Board, the Government-owned body which builds homes for the masses, provides for different segments of the market - from one-room flats to executive condominiums which have all the amenities of private housing like swimming pools and tennis courts.
But recent measures to cool rising prices tend to have an impact on all sectors of the market. Shouldn't they be better calibrated to impact only those sectors where affordability is an issue?
For instance, under new measures which came into force towards the end of last year, foreigners and corporate entities will have to pay an additional 10 per cent in stamp duty for their residential property purchases.
Permanent residents owning one and buying the second and subsequent residential property will have to fork out an additional 3 per cent in stamp duties. Singapore citizens owning two and buying additional homes will also have to pay this extra.
These levies are meant to dampen demand and bring residential property prices down. They, and other earlier measures introduced for the same purpose, appear so far to have had a very limited impact on prices.
In fact in the last two months, according to data put out by some property agencies, prices of both private homes and housing board resale flats have shown an upward trend.
Conversely, sales of property in the ultra luxurious sector of the market appear to have seen a significant slowdown.
- http://www.todayonline.com/Commenta...y/EDC120618-0000012/One-size-does-not-fit-all
