New Reporter
09-02-24, 13:54
Time to cut 15-month waiting period for ‘downgraders’, tweak ABSD, bring back estate tax: PropertyGuru
Feb 08, 2024
REDUCE the 15-month wait for private property “downgraders”, withhold stamp duties payable for Singaporean families buying a second home, and reintroduce estate tax. Ahead of the Budget 2024 statement next Friday (Feb 16), property portal PropertyGuru Singapore has put up these three recommendations on what can be done to “alleviate challenges” that home buyers and owners in Singapore face today.
Reduce 15-month wait for private home ‘downgraders’
In September 2022, the government extended, from six months to 15 months, the waiting period that private residential property owners selling their homes had to sit out the market before they were allowed to buy public housing flats on the resale market.
The policy change has helped moderate demand and price appreciation for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. HDB resale prices rose 4.9 per cent in 2023, slowing from the 10.4 per cent increase in 2022, while volume was down 4.2 per cent to 26,735 cases in 2023 from 27,896 transactions in the previous year.
“But the market is at a new stage, so we should revisit some of the assumptions,” said Tan Tee Khoon, PropertyGuru Singapore’s country manager. Resale prices, supply and demand have moderated, while the ramping up of Build-To-Order supply is also relieving pent-up demand.
The economic environment is now more uncertain with heightening geopolitical tensions, and external factors “may trigger sharp corrections to the market”, he warned. “We should enable households to exercise prudence if they want to right-size to HDB flats.”
He acknowledged a need to ring-fence against demand for larger flats, noting that the number of “million-dollar” flat deals have risen in 2023, indicating strong demand from other prospective buyers despite the 15-month restriction on downgraders.
“Buyers are likely to be upgraders who want to purchase larger homes priced out in the private residential (market) segment,” he said.
The wait-out period does not apply to seniors aged 55 and above who are moving from their private property to a four-room or smaller resale flat.
Although private homeowners with extenuating circumstances can approach HDB for a waiver, only 25 per cent of such requests – 850 out of 3,470 – were successful, since the implementation of the rule from September 2022 until the end of last year.
Dr Tan noted that removing the barriers to owning HDB flats “could lead to sharp price jumps and a hot market”. But these could be countered “by raising the minimum occupation period or imposing a capital gains tax which is prorated to prevent private homeowners from gaming the situation”.
Withhold ABSD for Singaporeans buying second property
PropertyGuru is also proposing that Singapore families be allowed to buy a second property for rent, with the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) withheld.
ABSD was raised to 20 per cent from 17 per cent for Singaporeans buying their second property, and to 30 per cent from 25 per cent for their third and subsequent properties.
For Singapore permanent residents, the ABSD has increased to 30 per cent from 25 per cent on their second property, and to 35 per cent from 30 per cent for their third and subsequent purchases.
“Residential properties have proven to be reliable assets for value preservation, and can offer a steady source of rental income for owners in their retirement years,” said Dr Tan. One strategy adopted by couples today is to decouple home ownership, in order to buy additional property without incurring the ABSD.
Such a strategy often “leads to increased financial stress, as couples are unable to pool their resources or diversify their risks when purchasing an additional home”.
“If the majority of private homes are designated for owner occupation, it could lead to a tight rental market in the future. This scarcity may result in volatile rental prices, which could have detrimental effects in the long run,” he said.
Although the government has introduced long-stay serviced apartments as a means to balance short-term rental demand fluctuations, Dr Tan said the impact from this policy may remain limited if only a few market players participated in the scheme.
To counter speculative behaviour, he suggested that the ABSD be withheld for the second home, with owners required to pay the withheld amount with interest if they buy a third home.
This rule would not apply for homes that are held for more than 10 years, he said, so as to encourage redevelopment of older properties.
Another countermeasure would be the imposition of capital gains tax if the owners were to dispose of the property within the next five to 10 years, Dr Tan added.
Reintroduce estate tax
Also on PropertyGuru’s Budget wish list is the reintroduction of estate duty or inheritance tax.
After the government abolished estate duty in 2008, there has been an “increasing polarisation of wealth and viewpoints (which) poses a threat to social cohesion”, noted Lee Nai Jia, head of real estate intelligence, data and software solutions at PropertyGuru.
Recognising the need to address wealth inequality in Singapore, the government proposed the reintroduction of inheritance tax in 2021.
“That raises concerns that reintroducing estate duty might compel affluent individuals to relocate their assets, deterring the establishment of family offices in Singapore, and potentially undermining its status as a financial hub in Asia,” he said.
To balance these risks, Dr Lee said provisions could be made to reduce rates for individuals that invest in environmentally sustainable projects such as green mark platinum buildings, or for those that allocate a yearly sum to support vulnerable societal segments and cross-subsidise retraining for lower-income or retrenched workers.
While estate duty typically covers the high-net-worth individuals, Dr Lee said there is scope to broaden this to the wider population.
He proposed for rates to be adjusted according to the value and type of properties that individuals own.
“This approach would ensure a more equitable distribution of the tax burden across different segments of the society,” he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/time-cut-15-month-waiting-period-downgraders-tweak-absd-bring-back-estate-tax-propertyguru
Feb 08, 2024
REDUCE the 15-month wait for private property “downgraders”, withhold stamp duties payable for Singaporean families buying a second home, and reintroduce estate tax. Ahead of the Budget 2024 statement next Friday (Feb 16), property portal PropertyGuru Singapore has put up these three recommendations on what can be done to “alleviate challenges” that home buyers and owners in Singapore face today.
Reduce 15-month wait for private home ‘downgraders’
In September 2022, the government extended, from six months to 15 months, the waiting period that private residential property owners selling their homes had to sit out the market before they were allowed to buy public housing flats on the resale market.
The policy change has helped moderate demand and price appreciation for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. HDB resale prices rose 4.9 per cent in 2023, slowing from the 10.4 per cent increase in 2022, while volume was down 4.2 per cent to 26,735 cases in 2023 from 27,896 transactions in the previous year.
“But the market is at a new stage, so we should revisit some of the assumptions,” said Tan Tee Khoon, PropertyGuru Singapore’s country manager. Resale prices, supply and demand have moderated, while the ramping up of Build-To-Order supply is also relieving pent-up demand.
The economic environment is now more uncertain with heightening geopolitical tensions, and external factors “may trigger sharp corrections to the market”, he warned. “We should enable households to exercise prudence if they want to right-size to HDB flats.”
He acknowledged a need to ring-fence against demand for larger flats, noting that the number of “million-dollar” flat deals have risen in 2023, indicating strong demand from other prospective buyers despite the 15-month restriction on downgraders.
“Buyers are likely to be upgraders who want to purchase larger homes priced out in the private residential (market) segment,” he said.
The wait-out period does not apply to seniors aged 55 and above who are moving from their private property to a four-room or smaller resale flat.
Although private homeowners with extenuating circumstances can approach HDB for a waiver, only 25 per cent of such requests – 850 out of 3,470 – were successful, since the implementation of the rule from September 2022 until the end of last year.
Dr Tan noted that removing the barriers to owning HDB flats “could lead to sharp price jumps and a hot market”. But these could be countered “by raising the minimum occupation period or imposing a capital gains tax which is prorated to prevent private homeowners from gaming the situation”.
Withhold ABSD for Singaporeans buying second property
PropertyGuru is also proposing that Singapore families be allowed to buy a second property for rent, with the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) withheld.
ABSD was raised to 20 per cent from 17 per cent for Singaporeans buying their second property, and to 30 per cent from 25 per cent for their third and subsequent properties.
For Singapore permanent residents, the ABSD has increased to 30 per cent from 25 per cent on their second property, and to 35 per cent from 30 per cent for their third and subsequent purchases.
“Residential properties have proven to be reliable assets for value preservation, and can offer a steady source of rental income for owners in their retirement years,” said Dr Tan. One strategy adopted by couples today is to decouple home ownership, in order to buy additional property without incurring the ABSD.
Such a strategy often “leads to increased financial stress, as couples are unable to pool their resources or diversify their risks when purchasing an additional home”.
“If the majority of private homes are designated for owner occupation, it could lead to a tight rental market in the future. This scarcity may result in volatile rental prices, which could have detrimental effects in the long run,” he said.
Although the government has introduced long-stay serviced apartments as a means to balance short-term rental demand fluctuations, Dr Tan said the impact from this policy may remain limited if only a few market players participated in the scheme.
To counter speculative behaviour, he suggested that the ABSD be withheld for the second home, with owners required to pay the withheld amount with interest if they buy a third home.
This rule would not apply for homes that are held for more than 10 years, he said, so as to encourage redevelopment of older properties.
Another countermeasure would be the imposition of capital gains tax if the owners were to dispose of the property within the next five to 10 years, Dr Tan added.
Reintroduce estate tax
Also on PropertyGuru’s Budget wish list is the reintroduction of estate duty or inheritance tax.
After the government abolished estate duty in 2008, there has been an “increasing polarisation of wealth and viewpoints (which) poses a threat to social cohesion”, noted Lee Nai Jia, head of real estate intelligence, data and software solutions at PropertyGuru.
Recognising the need to address wealth inequality in Singapore, the government proposed the reintroduction of inheritance tax in 2021.
“That raises concerns that reintroducing estate duty might compel affluent individuals to relocate their assets, deterring the establishment of family offices in Singapore, and potentially undermining its status as a financial hub in Asia,” he said.
To balance these risks, Dr Lee said provisions could be made to reduce rates for individuals that invest in environmentally sustainable projects such as green mark platinum buildings, or for those that allocate a yearly sum to support vulnerable societal segments and cross-subsidise retraining for lower-income or retrenched workers.
While estate duty typically covers the high-net-worth individuals, Dr Lee said there is scope to broaden this to the wider population.
He proposed for rates to be adjusted according to the value and type of properties that individuals own.
“This approach would ensure a more equitable distribution of the tax burden across different segments of the society,” he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/time-cut-15-month-waiting-period-downgraders-tweak-absd-bring-back-estate-tax-propertyguru