Reason for the Latest Property Cooling Measures is because ...

Taking a break from posting my photos. :) Straight from the oven, the Government has announced a fourth round of property cooling measures effective tomorrow, to 'maintain a stable and sustainable property market'.

They are:

1. Increasing the holding period for imposition of Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) from the current three years to four years;
   
   
2. Raising the SSD rates to 16 per cent, 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent of consideration for residential properties which are bought on or after Friday, and are sold in the first, second, third and fourth year of purchase respectively;
   
   
3. Lower the Loan-To-Value (LTV) limit to 50 per cent on housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by MAS for property purchasers who are not individuals;
   
   
4. Lower the LTV limit on housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 70 per cent to 60 per cent for property purchasers who are individuals with one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase.

You can refer to the news release here for more information on the reasons behind each point.

Personally though, I think the reason is because just today, China has also announced that it will allow its companies to make overseas investments in yuan. What's the linkage? Chinese love to invest in properties and look at the liquidity slushing around in China now.