Singapore announces new property cooling measures, additional buyer's stamp duty

The Singapore government has announced a new round of property cooling measures that will see ABSD raising to 60% for foreigners, with effect from 27 April 2023.

The latest round of cooling measures aims to prioritise housing for owner-occupation.

The specific ABSD rates increases are as follows:

a. Raise ABSD rate from 17% to 20% for Singapore citizens purchasing their second residential property;

b. Raise ABSD rate from 25% to 30% for Singapore citizens purchasing their third and subsequent residential property, and Singapore permanent residents purchasing their second residential property;

c. Raise ABSD rate from 30% to 35% for Singapore permanent residents purchasing their third and subsequent residential property;

d. Raise ABSD rate from 30% to 60% for foreigners purchasing any residential property; and

e. Raise ABSD rate from 35% to 65% for entities or trusts purchasing any residential property, except for housing developers.

What is the outlook for Singapore developers that are already facing high construction costs and high borrowing costs?