In a statement issued on Monday morning, MND said it would increase the holding period for the imposition of Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) on residential properties sold from one year to three years.
The SSD levied will vary according to the term of occupancy. If the property is sold in the first year of purchase, the full SSD will be levied - one per cent for the first $180,000 of the consideration, two per cent for the next $180,000, and three per cent for the balance. Two-thirds of the SSD will be levied for properties sold in the second year of occupancy and one-third for properties sold in the third year of occupancy.
The extended SSD will not affect HDB lessees as the required Minimum Occupation Period for HDB flats is at least 3 years.
For property buyers with outstanding housing loans, the Minimum Cash Payment has been increased from five per cent to ten per cent of the valuation limit. This measure is applied only to buyers of private residential properties, Executive Condominiums, HUDC flats and HDB flats (including those under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme) who are taking housing loans from MAS-regulated financial institutions who already have one or more outstanding housing loans.
For this group, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit has been lowered from 80 per cent to 70 per cent. Borrowers who do not have any outstanding housing loans will continue to have an LTV cap of 80 per cent. Loans granted by HDB for HDB flats (including DBSS flats) will still have an LTV cap of 90 per cent.
HDB loans are offered to eligible first-time flat buyers and second-timers who are right-sizing their flats to meet their housing needs. They are required to utilise all of their CPF Ordinary Account balance before HDB loans will be granted.
In their statement, the MND said lowering the LTV limit would 'send a clear signal' to financial institutions to maintain credit standards, and also encourage greater financial prudence.
No comments:
Post a Comment