Singapore to Keep Property Curbs for Now as Sell-Off Risk Remote
Singapore Watching Property Prices After Steps to Cool Market
(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s central bank signaled that it will maintain measures to cool residential property prices for now in the absence of any signs of a market slump.
“We’ve not seen any impending risk of a sharp sell-off,” Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon said Thursday. “At this point I don’t see why there is a need to shift gears significantly in any way.”
The MAS is watching the market “very closely” following steps introduced last year to slow price increases, Menon said at a briefing on its annual report. Home values have fallen in the wake of the measures, which included raising stamp duties for second homes and tightening loan-to-value limits for mortgages.
“We have learned from experience that preventing a bubble from forming is less painful than deflating one that has fully formed,” Menon said.
Dwelling values fell for a second straight quarter in the three months ended March 31, with luxury home prices down 2.9%, the most since the quarter ended June 2009. Earlier this month, the government cut the supply of private residential units under its land sales program in a bid to curb a glut in unsold apartments.
Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said last month that Singapore has succeeded in avoiding a “destabilizing correction” in the residential property market. “Genuine homeowners” understand the need for measures that curtail speculation, he said in an interview.
Menon also said he expects growth of Singapore’s financial sector to slow from last year, though it will continue to outpace the economy’s expansion.
A net 6,900 jobs were created last year in the financial services and fintech sectors, the MAS said. That exceeded a target of adding 4,000 jobs annually.
--With assistance from Michelle Jamrisko.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward, Jeanette Rodrigues
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