Housing loans extend drop in May but overall lending rises on business loans: MAS data
Property market continues to see demand and sentiment tempered by cooling measures since last July
Add BT as a preferred source
Tay Peck Gek
Singapore
UNSURPRISINGLY, housing loans in Singapore shrank for the fifth straight month in May. At S$202.54 billion, this is a 13-month low as cooling measures continue to work their way through the property market. Preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released on Friday shows that mortgages booked in May were 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent lower month-on-month and year-on-year respectively. The local property market has seen demand and sentiment tempered by the cooling measures put in place last July.
And there may be no respite soon as MAS managing director Ravi Menon said on Thursday that the curbs will not be lifted in the near future, because "there seems to be a good balance that is holding up the market in a good place".
TRENDING NOW
CSE Global independent director quits after clashes with chairman Eugene Lai over board refresh
‘I felt like dying’: Thai Singha beer scion speaks up after disclosure of alleged sexual abuse
Cat A COE rate exceeds Cat B for third time in 4 months; premiums largely down
What’s wrong with Orchard Road? Experts weigh in on the street’s cachet and its future
