Budget 2023: Savills urges gov’t to loosen ‘15-month wait-out’ policy for HDB

Alan Cheong, the Executive Director of Research & Consultancy at Savills Singapore, recently shared his insights on the current property challenges in the country. He believes that the government has the power to alleviate the effects of the property cooling measures, which have made it difficult for both upgraders and those looking to downsize. In an interview, he discussed three main ways to address the issue.

First, Cheong suggests a waiver of the upfront Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) for those who sell their first property within six months of purchasing their second property. Secondly, he recommends removing the 15-month waiting period for those who wish to downgrade from a private apartment to an HDB flat. Lastly, he suggests allowing vacancy allowances for property tax cases, so that those with empty residential properties won't have to pay property tax.

In addition, Cheong also talked about ways to increase the supply of residential properties in the Outside Central Region (OCR). He explains that there is no shortage of land, and the government has the latitude to increase government land sales for private residential housing. The current shortage in rental apartments and rising prices are mainly due to a lack of launches in 2022 and delays in construction caused by the pandemic. However, Cheong believes that the completion of nearly 18,000 units this year will alleviate the shortage in the rental market inventory. He concludes that by implementing some of his recommendations, the government can help improve the market and make housing more accessible for locals.