Real estate players brace for market curbs as housing debt climbs: NUS poll

[SINGAPORE] Expectations of market cooling measures are rising among real estate players, as households continue to take on more housing debt amid falling interest rates, according to a National University of Singapore (NUS) survey.

“We have observed that households have been taking on more debt for their homes since the third quarter of 2024, coinciding with the US Federal Reserve’s commencement of interest-rate cuts,” said Professor Qian Wenlan, director of the NUS Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (Ireus).

The Fed cut interest rates twice in the second half of 2025 – by 25 basis points each in September and late October – bringing the current range to between 3.75 and 4 per cent.