http://www.straitstimes.com/business...likely-limited

Impact of GE result on property market likely limited

Tomorrow's election result will likely have limited impact on the property market here given the cooling measures in place.

Sep 10, 2015

Rennie Whang


Tomorrow's election result will likely have limited impact on the property market given the cooling measures in place, although the Government may tweak some of these especially if the economy weakens further, property consultancy JLL said yesterday.

Any tweaks will be "to maintain Singapore's overall economic growth as well as investment attractiveness in the market (for foreign investors)", said Dr Chua Yang Liang, JLL head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia.

However, this will be done without affecting the local market, where price falls have been small, relatively to how much they gained in 2008 to 2012.

"Until we see further correction in the housing market, (government) policy is unlikely to see any major changes at this moment," he said.

The election outcome could also have an impact on immigration policies and, in turn, leasing demand.

Tighter policies in this area have been hitting the rental market but the stance could change in the new term of government.

"At the end of the day, it depends on the ruling government's balance between economic growth and... employment for local residents," said Dr Chua.

In addition, the issue of transparency - which has been discussed in the election - matters when it comes to real estate, he added, noting: "Transparency of the property market is highly correlated with the level of investment funds in that city."

And whatever the election result, "if it affects the operational efficiency of the market, the speed of decision making as well as its policies, and economic growth engines" - all these could ultimately affect the property market, he noted.

How well a town council maintains the assets and its neighbourhood could have some bearing on values as well. "Property values are a reflection of the asset itself and to some extent the quality of the surrounding neighbourhood... (so it can) depend on what the deliverables of a town council are."

In the wider region, how politics plays out here should not have much impact as global demand has weakened, he added.