The end is nigh for property cooling measures: analysts

Some rules will be lifted in under a year.

After languishing for several quarters on back of crippling cooling measures, analysts now expect that Singapore’s property market is finally headed for a rebound with the government likely to lift some measures within the next 12 months.

UOB Kay Hian analyst Andrew Chow said that selective easing is on the cards as prices have retreated 6-9% from their peak.

“We see the potential for selective easing of property cooling measures in 1H16 as physical property prices have retreated by 6-9%. However, we do not expect prudent measures such as total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) to be changed,” he said. 

Apart from lower prices, UBS analysts Cheryl Lee and Louis Chua believe that measures will be eased because sales volumes have moderated drastically in the past quarters. 

“In Singapore, we anticipate that easing of property cooling measures will commence soon – we remain hopeful of a positive catalyst on this front in H215. We believe measures related to stamp duties could be relaxed although measures relating to debt service ratios are unlikely to be changed,” they said.