PRoperty regulation in Jan 2011

PROPERTY BUYING REGULATION IN JANUARY 2011
By www.propertybuyer.com.sg

As the election is approaching, it is imperative to paper over the failure to keep property prices in check. The Singapore government is again resorting to brute force tactics to artificially cool the property market. The measures are an over-kill and ill conceived when the market is already showing signs of slowing down.

Just weeks ago, we mentioned that Quantitative Easing will likely lead to regulation risk to slow the market and sadly this has come so quickly and without warning.

The New Property Buying Rules Will Come Into Effect On The 14th January 2011.

1) Increasing the holding period for imposition of Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) from the current three years to four years;

2) Raising the Seller stamp duty SSD rates to 16 per cent, 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent of consideration for residential properties which are bought on or after Friday, and are sold in the first, second, third and fourth year of purchase respectively;

3) Lower the Loan-To-Value (LTV) limit to 50 per cent on housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by MAS for property purchasers who are not individuals

4) Lower the LTV limit on housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 70 per cent to 60 per cent for property purchasers who are individuals with one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase. The measures will take effect on Friday.

(Source: Straits Times, http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_623779.html)

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY ON PROPERTY BUYING REGULATION – SINGAPORE

The intention is to cool down the market and demonstrate to the Singaporean electorate that the government is really trying to do something to cool down the market and to show that regulation is starting to show results. Like we say previously, we hope they don’t over-react, but It seems that our hope is in vain. It could be that Q4, 2010 transacted prices are still moving up too quickly.

(We are still waiting for Q4, 2010 URA private property transacted prices to come out and we will be doing a research on it. We will first disseminate to all our ex-customers 3 to 4 weeks ahead of all others so that they get a head-start in decision making)

Trying to make property prices cheaper for Singaporeans and PRs

The supposed intention of the Singapore government is to try to make property prices not rise as fast. (We shall not go into who created the imbalance in the supply in the first place)

After much hard work digging (seems like median salary is not a favoured form of reporting statistics), we found the median salary statistics. Singapore’s median salary is only $2710 in June 2010.

This means that most Singaporeans will not be able to afford private properties. And since HDB flats is facing a severe supply shortage, the round of cooling is unlikely to have much effect given the extreme shortage of supply of HDBs. The segment of Singapore population most at risk is also the one most exposed to risks from over-priced HDB properties.

‘Boosted by the strong economic recovery, the median monthly income for Singaporeans in full-time employment rose by 4.2 per cent over the year to $2,710 in June. This is higher than the marginal growth of just half a per cent last year. According to the Ministry of manpower (MOM), the median income still rose by 1.8 per cent after factoring in inflation. The median income of part-timers also saw a significant increase of 13 per cent to $700 this year. Overall, the nominal median income for all employed residents rose by 3.3 per cent to $2,500.”

(Source: Reach.gov.sg, http://www.reach.gov.sg/YourSay/DiscussionForum/tabid/101/mode/1/Default.aspx?ssFormAction=[[ssBlogThread_VIEW]]&tid=[[947]])

Housing Benefit To Singapore Expatriates And Would Be Immigrants

The intention is to benefit the local population with some form of supposed lower property prices for HDBs, but instead it may cool the private property market. The new measures effectively will allow Expatriates in Singapore to own properties easily at 70% or 80% of loan to valuation (depending on the full regulatory statement from Ministry of National Development (MND) tomorrow on the 14th January 2011).

As most Singaporeans own their residential homes already, buying a second property will be a 40% downpayment and many cannot afford 40% downpayment. And most singaporeans earn only a median income of $2710, therefore most Singaporeans cannot afford private properties. Therefore, this paves the way for Singapore expats to buy their first property in Singapore without so much competition.

So Singapore expats, if you are looking to buy a property, whether the government intended or unintended to help you, this is the golden opportunity to consider to buy a property in Singapore now instead of renting (However please read Comparisons of buying versus renting property). Before their change the rules again and impose buying restrictions on Foreigners, this may be your last chance for 2011.

We anticipate that the next regulation may involve foreigners buying property in Singapore.

What If Property Buyers Want To Switch Properties Or Upgrade?

Property borrowers who can show evidence of Sale of property will not be subject to the new rules. If the Property buyer wants to buy another property, he must first sell his property, show a signed Sale and Purchase (S&P) agreement proving the sale of this property and then show the IRAS certificate showing that someone has bought his property and paid stamp duty on it.

Where the existing property is a HDB flat, he can show HDB’s approval letter to sell the flat, that HDB will issue within 2 weeks of the First Appointment. These borrowers will still be able to borrow at an 80 per cent LTV from financial institutions.

But the timings are extremely tight, 2 weeks for options to be exercised and another 2 weeks stamp duty to be paid. In this time, they must also apply for a home loan and show these to the banks to ensure that the bank can lend at 80%, (not all banks will lend in these cases, please check and confirm via approval in principle with banks at
loans@propertybuyer.com.sg or sms 9782 8606).

NOTE: we cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of this article and buyers please take all necessary precautions such as contacting us to ensure a loan can be obtained. Please read our terms and conditions.

Then they will need to complete the sale in 2 months instead of the usual 3 months in order to have a place to stay. Alternatively, buyers will need to drag out the sales completion date of the property they are selling.

Borrowers Without Any Outstanding Housing Loans Will Have A 80% Loan To Valuation Limit

These rules apply to housing loans granted by financial institutions for private residential properties, Executive Condominiums, HUDC flats and HDB flats (including DBSS flats).

Loans granted by HDB for HDB flats (including DBSS flats) will still have a LTV cap of 90 per cent.