Debated in Parliament on 13 May 2013.
Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for National Development after the seventh round of property cooling measures announced on 11 January 2013 (a) how many new and resale private properties were transacted between 12 January 2013 and 30 April 2013; (b) how many of these were purchased by (i) Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and foreigners respectively, (ii) first-time buyers, (iii) second-time buyers; and (c) what is the effectiveness of the latest round of cooling measures.
About 4,500 new and 1,700 resale private residential properties were sold between 12 January and 31 March 2013. Figures for April will only be available later this month.
Seventy-six percent of the purchases were by Singaporeans. PRs and foreigners constitute the other 15% and 9% respectively. Buyers who owned no properties at the point of purchase accounted for 65% of the transactions. The rest of the buyers owned one or more residential properties at the time of purchase.
The latest round of cooling measures has helped to moderate the housing market. Overall private home prices increased by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2013, significantly less than the 1.8% rise in the previous quarter. While the number of new units sold by developers increased in the first quarter of 2013, the number of resale units sold fell substantially. As a result, the overall number of transactions in the first quarter of 2013 has declined from the previous quarter. Sub-sales as a proportion of all private housing transactions, which is a proxy for property speculation, fell to 5.6% in the first quarter of 2013 from 6.9% in the previous quarter.
We continue to monitor the market closely. If necessary, we will not hesitate to act again to ensure a stable and sustainable property market.
PAPERCUTS