Time may be right to tweak property curbs: CDL chief

"Some are in favour of such a move, but more feel the Government should not budge an inch. No surprise over who is on which side: The views are based heavily on self-interest"

I think they speak for themselves that they are very vested since they were the one encouraging the gravy train that property prices will never go down when people in the street were groaning. They shouldn't be complaining that they now need to clean up the party and grumble no one is helping them. They had their fun.

Policy makers should not be looking at vested interest of small groups but aggregate benefit. It is clear to me that asset inflation which contributes to cost of living and business is killing our competitiveness.

(14-02-2014, 10:52 AM)specuvestor Wrote: "Some are in favour of such a move, but more feel the Government should not budge an inch. No surprise over who is on which side: The views are based heavily on self-interest"

I think they speak for themselves that they are very vested since they were the one encouraging the gravy train that property prices will never go down when people in the street were groaning. They shouldn't be complaining that they now need to clean up the party and grumble no one is helping them. They had their fun.

Policy makers should not be looking at vested interest of small groups but aggregate benefit. It is clear to me that asset inflation which contributes to cost of living and business is killing our competitiveness.

How many apartments and landed property do the policy makers and ministers own?

(14-02-2014, 09:26 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: The view of a property agent...

Cooling measures worth tweaking

A common topic of discussion during home visits over the Chinese New Year holidays was whether the Government should relax some of its property cooling measures — to date, seven rounds of them.

Some are in favour of such a move, but more feel the Government should not budge an inch. No surprise over who is on which side: The views are based heavily on self-interest.
...
I feel a review leading to some adjustments to the cooling measures would be good, simply because no policy is perfect.

There will always be some unintended negative consequences on the genuine homebuyer or upgrader: The policymaker may say this is unavoidable as you cannot please everyone. True, the impact may be small or even insignificant if we are talking about only a single round of measures but, to date, there have been seven rounds since September 2009.

Surely the consequences for each round will accumulate and build up and, over time, will become significant. Judging from the slow progress made by policymakers in the major economies to normalise the low-interest-rate environment, we can expect our cooling measures to be around for some time, if not for a long time. Meanwhile, a segment of households will continue to be unfairly penalised.

If that is the case, a review of the cooling measures should be done and adjustments made to limit such effects. Just this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore relaxed some of the conditions of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework for owner-occupied properties. It recognised that some owners might find themselves trapped in situations not of their doing as a result of the TDSR,which is not officially considered a cooling measure.
...
Colin Tan is Director, Research & Consultancy at Suntec Real Estate
http://www.todayonline.com/business/prop...epage=true

The additional 7% taxes are inefficient coz the expected returns of buyers may be higher. Developers continue to bid for mass market sites if they think there is still buyers (backed by high resale HDB prices). Even the high downpayment % can be bypass using family members & nominees.

The catalyst that cause the drop in volume is TDSR coz it cuts down the firepower of investment prop buyers AND close all the loopholes to bypass the laws. As I said, the 'greater fool' cannot get loan to buy already.

It is too early to talk about rolling back measures. PAP Govt will be seen as no backbone if they scared of letting resale pte prices drop 10-15%. Will have moral hazard if Govt policy support the view 'property can only go up'

(14-02-2014, 09:26 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: The view of a property agent...

Cooling measures worth tweaking

A common topic of discussion during home visits over the Chinese New Year holidays was whether the Government should relax some of its property cooling measures — to date, seven rounds of them.

Some are in favour of such a move, but more feel the Government should not budge an inch. No surprise over who is on which side: The views are based heavily on self-interest.
...
I feel a review leading to some adjustments to the cooling measures would be good, simply because no policy is perfect.

There will always be some unintended negative consequences on the genuine homebuyer or upgrader: The policymaker may say this is unavoidable as you cannot please everyone. True, the impact may be small or even insignificant if we are talking about only a single round of measures but, to date, there have been seven rounds since September 2009.

Surely the consequences for each round will accumulate and build up and, over time, will become significant. Judging from the slow progress made by policymakers in the major economies to normalise the low-interest-rate environment, we can expect our cooling measures to be around for some time, if not for a long time. Meanwhile, a segment of households will continue to be unfairly penalised.

If that is the case, a review of the cooling measures should be done and adjustments made to limit such effects. Just this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore relaxed some of the conditions of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework for owner-occupied properties. It recognised that some owners might find themselves trapped in situations not of their doing as a result of the TDSR,which is not officially considered a cooling measure.
...
Colin Tan is Director, Research & Consultancy at Suntec Real Estate
http://www.todayonline.com/business/prop...epage=true

Isn't this guy writing the whole article based on self interest too ?

How to stop a gambler to gamble further ?
Most effective way is to freeze his ammunition !

TDSR is a very good measure. SUPPORT !

> TDSR is a very good measure. SUPPORT !

I agree. However, relaxation of the gradual de-leveraging rule till Jun 2017 is NOT a good measure.

It sends a signal that the govt will step in to support housing prices. The owners will expect and pressure a 2nd move again... And because of votes they will do so again... It's sad...

(14-02-2014, 01:12 PM)Contrarian Wrote: > TDSR is a very good measure. SUPPORT !

I agree. However, relaxation of the gradual de-leveraging rule till Jun 2017 is NOT a good measure.

It sends a signal that the govt will step in to support housing prices. The owners will expect and pressure a 2nd move again... And because of votes they will do so again... It's sad...

This one I totally agreed with you !

MAS, YOU BETTER STAND FIRM !
SHOW US THAT YOU HAVE BACKBONE !

The view from CapitalLand's CEO, on the property in Singapore. Will the rest of the key players join in?

Property demand cooler now, but supply needs time: CapitaLand

SINGAPORE — Real estate developer CapitaLand said the residential property market in Singapore will continue to face headwinds this year, with the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework and concerns over interest rates hike set to further weigh on demand.

However, the largest developer in South-east Asia stopped short of joining the calls for the Government to relax the various measures that have cooled the market, as the Singapore residential segment constitutes less than 10 per cent of the company’s overall portfolio.

“If market conditions become more challenging, I suppose the Government will always take that into consideration in whether they want to remove some of the measures or not. For us, although we have a small exposure relative to many of our peers, should the Government remove some of the measures, many, including us, will stand to benefit from that,” said President and Group Chief Executive Lim Ming Yan.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/prop...capitaland

Developer delays launch of condo -ST by Cheryl Ong

Capitaland want to watch impact of loan curb.

Residential properties in Singapore constitutes less than 10% of Capitaland portfolio.

Mr. Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapLand, said: "Although we have a small exposure relative to many of our peers, if the Gov should remove some of the measures, a lot of people will stands to benefits"

Mr Wen Khai Meng, chief executive of CapLand Singapore, also hopes the timeframe given to developers to sell units can be relaxed.
"It will be good so that the market can be given room to adjust demand and supply to reach an equilibrium without the risk of having wild swings in prices."

Love Compassion



A Life not Reflected is a Life not Worth Living.

We should be seeing stiffer competition from developers and shrinking margin for developers in the next few quarters. If government choose not revert some of the cooling policies, it won't be surprising that some developers might even fall into minor loss position.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-19...opers.html

Economists' (?) views on the recent "suggestions" from developers.

Not time to tweak property cooling measures, say observers

SINGAPORE — While a growing number of property market participants are calling for the Government to tweak some of the measures introduced to cool the market, observers said it may be premature to do so as there is still room for the sector to stabilise.

Economists TODAY spoke to have raised concerns that any unravelling of the cooling measures before interest rates start to rise would, once again, heighten the risk of excessive leverage.

“We haven’t seen interest rates rise, so it’s a little premature at this point. People are still looking to come back at levels that they feel comfortable, so I think a premature loosening would reignite the speculative element that we’re trying to dampen,” said CIMB economist Song Seng Wun.
...
While agreeing that there is still uneasiness surrounding the hike in interest rates, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin said the Government can keep loan curbs intact and fine-tune some of the stamp duties instead.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/not-...-observers