
Chart of the Day: This graph shows an entire decade of property cooling measures
It all started in February 2010.
This chart from JLL shows the most important property measures that have shaped the local market in the past ten years.
In February 2010, the government introduced the Seller's Stamp Duty, which charged owners for selling their properties before they have completed a prescribed holding period. The loan to value (LTV) ratio was also lowered, from 90% to 80%.
The SSD was modified in August 2010, while the LTV ratio was again lowered from 80% to 70%. This reduced subsales and speculation.
In January 2011, the holding period for the imposition of SSD was increased, while SSD rates were also lowered. To further curb speculation, the LTV limit was also lowered for non-individual buyers and for buyers with outstanding home loans.
The Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) was first introduced in December 2011, aimed at curbing speculative buying among individuals and corporates.
In October 2012, the government imposed an absolute limit of 35 years on the tenure of all loans for residential properties.
After these measures failed to substantially cool demand, the government rolled out more potent measures in 2013 in the form of an across the board increase in ABSD rates, which managed to curtail foreign buying. In June 13, the final blow was struck in the form of the introduction of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), which reduced local buying and caused primary sales to decrease by half.