Brokers' take

Singapore Property OCBC Investment Research, Feb 20

WE view (the Buyer's Stamp Duty rate increase) as a mild cooling measure aimed at enhancing progressivity. While there could be a negative knee-jerk reaction to the share prices of developers, the incremental outlay is unlikely to severely dampen demand for the residential market.

However, there would likely be a more significant impact on the collective sales market which is larger in ticket size. The Buyer's Stamp Duty rates for non-residential properties remain unchanged at one per cent to 3 per cent. This is a positive for Singapore real estate investment trusts (Reits) as they typically buy commercial and industrial properties in Singapore.