Property sector hopes for the pain to end

[SINGAPORE] For property players, there is one Budget wish above all else: that some of the cooling measures introduced previously - including the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) and additional buyers' stamp duty (ABSD) - might be tweaked or even rolled back.

"Our wish is for the government to consider scaling back or loosening up certain measures which have yielded the desired results," said Donald Han, managing director at Chesterton Singapore.

After all, sub-sales and foreigners' participation rates are now at a new low compared to two years ago, largely due to the successful implementation of the sellers' stamp duty (SSD) and ABSD. Also, the TDSR framework has single-handedly put a check on escalating property prices and transaction volumes.