No easing of property curbs with tweaks in refinancing rules, MAS says

But it would be positive for domestic housing market.

After announcing plans of fine-tuning the rules under the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) for the exemption of borrowers under certain conditions, the Monetary Authority of Singapore clarified that this does not equate to an easing of cooling measures

In a statement, MAS Deputy Managing Director Ong Chong Tee said it received feedback from some borrowers who were not able to refinance due to not meeting the TDSR threshold of 60%.

"The TDSR is a structural measure to encourage prudent borrowing by households. The adjustments announced today will help borrowers to refinance their existing property loans at lower interest rates and better manage their debt obligations over time. They do not apply to loans for new property purchases and are not an easing of the property cooling measures,” Tee said.

For OCBC Investment Research Analyst Eli Lee, ironing out the refinancing rules is still a positive move done by MAS, as it would add stability into the balance sheet of borrowers.

"We believe these fine-tunes are very well thought-out and would add a measure of stability into the balance sheets of existing borrowers. At the margin, this could relieve some stress on the secondary market and is overall positive for the domestic housing market and the banks’ mortgage loan books," OCBC said.