Assessment of Effectiveness of Existing Property Cooling Measures

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry can provide an assessment of the effectiveness of existing property cooling measures; (b) whether the objectives of these measures have been met; and (c) whether the Government will consider increasing the supply of land for private housing to meet demand.

The Government’s intent is to ensure a stable and sustainable property market, where prices move broadly in line with economic fundamentals. Where necessary, we have implemented measures to achieve this and to ensure that households do not overextend themselves when making property purchases.

These measures have been effective. For instance, the property cooling measures in July 2018 significantly slowed the increase in property prices to 1.2% between 3Q2018 and 2Q2019, from 9.1% between 3Q2017 and 2Q2018.

The Government remains highly vigilant and will continue to monitor developments in the property market closely. We will maintain our current approach of adjusting policies as necessary, including calibrating the supply of Government Land Sales (GLS) sites, to ensure a stable and sustainable property market.