Secondary-market deals at lowest level since 2004

[SINGAPORE] The number of private homes changing hands in the secondary market halved from 15,678 units in 2012 to 7,695 units last year - the lowest volume since 2004, when 6,476 units were sold, according to a caveats analysis by DTZ.

Last year's drop in secondary-market transactions - comprising resale and subsale transactions - was much larger than a 31.3 per cent slide in the number of private homes sold by developers in the primary market to 13,372 units.

DTZ attributed the steeper decline in secondary-market transaction volumes of private homes partly to the fact that those who own multiple properties may not be in a hurry to sell their properties, "as their replacement cost is now higher, with the higher additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) and the permanent and structural total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework in place", said Lee Lay Keng, head of Singapore research at the property consulting group.