S'pore an exception in Asia-Pac with cooling measures that have more bite

Singapore

SINGAPORE has been the only market in the Asia-Pacific in which government efforts to contain price increases have actually been successful.

Governments in China, Hong Kong and Australia have been trying for years to slow the steady rise of residential property prices, mostly by imposing punitive sales taxes and higher mortgage downpayments.

But their efforts have largely failed, with prices conti…