Govt says it again: Too early to lift cooling measures

AS expected, the government again made clear that it is too early to relax property cooling measures. Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance, said in his Budget speech: "Some have asked about the range of measures that we have introduced to stabilise the property market since 2010. These are intended to keep the market stable and sustainable.

"Based on the price level and current market conditions, our assessment is that it is premature to relax these measures."

Private home prices have fallen 8.4 per cent since their 2013 peak. Property consultants had expected the news.