Trading places, improving mobility 

HIGHER ABSD rates on a second home purchase now apply to all buyers, but one group gets some reprieve. Single Singapore citizens aged 55 and above who are “trading down” – buying a second property that is of lower value than their first – can claim a refund of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty paid, as long as they sell their first property within a specified timeframe. 

The refund amounts to quite a meaningful sum. The 20 per cent duty paid on a S$1.5 million property comes to S$300,000. Installing curbs in the market to ensure prices don’t go off the rails contributes to stability, but high transactions costs can impede housing mobility, argues Leslie Yee in The Level Ground. 

If older Singaporean singles, who have good reasons to seek less costly housing, can be afforded favourable ABSD treatment, why not younger singles as well as permanent resident couples who may also have good reasons to either move down - or up - the housing ladder? Leslie has several suggestions for a less punitive and friendlier ABSD regime for those who just want to move house, and are not looking to add to the number of properties they own.