Premature to lift property cooling measures, says Khaw Boon Wan

[SINGAPORE] Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan reiterated yesterday in parliament that it is premature to relax property cooling measures given the current market conditions.

Lifting the measures now could, in fact, lead to an upswing in demand, hence raising the number of transactions and housing prices.

Mr Khaw was responding to a question from Member of Parliament Foo Mee Har on whether the government will consider relaxing some property cooling measures, such as those relating to the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD), so that Singaporeans who meet the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) of 60 per cent can upgrade their properties while remaining financially prudent.