Disallow foreigners to buy private properties below $2M!
Data for the first quarter of this year showed a substantial increase in the number of foreign buyers of private homes (“Foreign buyers keen on private homes again”; April 23). In absolute terms, the number of foreign purchases – 523 in the first quarter – was 40 per cent higher than the 373 recorded in the same period a year ago.
According to analysts, the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD), which imposes a 15 per cent levy on purchases by foreign buyers, has prompted more of them to aim downmarket, thereby competing with average Singaporean buyers in the mass and mid-tier markets. This will drive up home prices in these segments beyond the reach of average Singaporeans.
Also, while the demand from local buyers for private homes continued to fall, that from permanent residents and foreigners remained strong and stable. This negates the objective of the Government to lower home prices.
Many foreigners buy properties for investment purposes rather than genuinely wanting to set up their homes here. The ABSD will not matter to them as many have deep pockets.
The biggest losers will be Singaporean buyers who are priced out of the market.
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam recently said property prices remain high but are moving in the right direction, and that the Government has no plans for another round of cooling measures for now (“Home prices moving the right way: Tharman”; April 19).
But looking at the statistics, something must be done to correct the imbalance. One measure the Government could consider is to disallow foreigners from buying residential properties below a certain value, say, $2 million.
Otherwise, private property prices will continue to rise, putting such homes out of the reach of average Singaporeans.
.Koh Bank Aik* The letter was first published on ST Forum (8 May).
.Editor’s note: Another reason why foreigners like to buy SG properties despite the curbs is because of the strong S$. They figure that overall, they can still make when they sell their SG properties years later even at cost because S$ may have appreciated against their local currency even more.
.放出来了终于提建议的人说 应该不让外国买家碰二米一下的私宅
我估计此计一出 坡县产业市场就该翘了
早点戈屁了也好大家省心：）你的帖子全英文,论坛系统不认识.不认识回被扣住：）
现在放出来了 我是觉得这个论点很雷每次看到有关房产的此类问题，都麻木了，气人的，雷人的，吓人的，都有，折腾吧。这个跟马来西亚学的。楼主您还是 佛琳娜 ？啥叫佛琳娜新加坡要限制外国人炒房子，靠absd显然是不够的。
这种政策在马来西亚，澳大利亚，两个地广人稀的国家都有类，新加坡出这种措施也正常，只是2m有点高了，或许1.5m比较合适。
我甚至认为不持有超过两年pass的外国人不可以买房子，因为这些人纯粹是炒房。不奇怪。
观察过了，基本上对外国人有意见的，多半在现实生活中不如意的。只能把肚子里的气怪到外国人头上。
跟外国人密切接触的，一来视野广心胸宽，二来多少收益于外国人。
事实上，我认识的本地人对中国人印象都很好，甚至抢着和中国人打好关系。如果不是新闻报道，我还真以为全新加坡人都对中国人如此。不会实施。 马国等外国没有公屋做保障，所以要封锁低价屋市场给本地居民。
新加坡组屋制度健全，封锁低价公寓完全没有意义。现在外国人要开始抢