The Singapore government on Monday tightened property lending to maintain a stable and sustainable property market so that prices move in line with economic fundamentals. Measures announced today intend to ensure that public housing remain within the reach of Singaporeans by raising housing supply and dampening the demand from second time buyers.
For property buyers, who already have one or more outstanding housing loans, the minimum cash payment for a new property will be 10% of the valuation limit, instead of 5%.
Further, the Loan-to-Value, or LTV limit for housing loans granted by financial institutions to buy second property was reduced to 70% from the current 80%. Borrowers who do not have any outstanding housing loans, continue to have an LTV cap of 80%.
The government raised the holding period for imposition of Seller's Stamp Duty from the current one year to three years. Accordingly, if residential properties bought on or after August 30 is sold within three years of purchase, the duty will be imposed. These measures will take immediate effect on August 30.
"The Government has decided to introduce additional measures now to temper sentiments and encourage greater financial prudence among property purchasers," the Ministry of Finance, Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of National Development said in a joint statement.
Also, the government intends to ensure that there is adequate supply of housing to meet demand. Further, the government will continue to monitor the property market closely and introduce additional measures if required later.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government acted twice to cool the market and more need to be done. He noted that house prices are going up and some blame it on foreigners as they contribute to housing demand. In his National Day Rally speech, Lee said that up to 22,000 flats will be built next year, up from 16,000 this year.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, there was a total supply of 61,831 uncompleted units of private housing from projects in the pipeline at the end of second quarter. Of the 61,831 units, 37,910 units were expected to be completed between the third quarter 2010 and 2013. Prices of private residential properties climbed by 5.3% in the second quarter, after increasing 5.6% in the previous quarter.
In Asia, Hong Kong and China had already announced measures to curb speculative activities in the property market. On the other hand, the South Korean government on Sunday unveiled steps to ease mortgage lending rules to support property market.
In the second quarter, the Singapore economy expanded by 18.8% on a year-on-year basis, stronger than the 16.9% growth seen in the first quarter. Economic growth is expected to moderate in the second half of the year. In its annual report, MAS said the city-state economy is likely to grow by 13% to 15%.
Should economic growth falter and the market corrects, property buyers could face capital losses, with implications on their own finances and the economy as a whole, the government said in a statement today.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.