By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) imposed on foreigners purchasing private homes in Singapore has had a 'ripple effect' on prices and will eventually cool the market, said a property expert.
Dr. Liao Wen-Chi of the National University of Singapore's Department of Real Estate said that while foreigners commonly acquire properties in the central region, a decline in purchases due to the ABSD is expected to bring prices down in suburban areas as well.
Analysis done on the property market from 2004 to 2007 showed a ripple effect whereby rising home prices in the central region caused similar upticks in other districts.
Dr. Liao noted that the opposite could be a possibility as well.
Research suggests that "with careful policy properly affecting the inflow of foreign liquidity to Singapore's real estate market, the government is able to keep a healthy growth of the market and ensure affordable housing", he said during a real estate conference held at Marina Bay Sands, organised by the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and Asian Real Estate Society.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, Lee Yi Shyan, said that the government has sought to create a "sustainable, stable and transparent real estate market".
He added that aside from taking a multi-stakeholder approach, the participation of academia, researchers and real estate professionals will help in the creation and implementation of better policies.
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