Higher stamp duty unlikely to douse positive property sentiment

SINGAPORE (Feb 20): Global investment bank Jefferies says the increase in buyer’s stamp duty for residential properties in Singapore announced at Budget 2018 on Monday could put a slight dent in developer margins, but is unlikely to put the brakes on positive sentiment.

“While the budget measures are marginally negative for developers, sentiment may not be adversely impacted. There may be slight dent in margins, and overall demand may be supported by other countervailing factors like rising household income, broad-based economic growth and still-low rates,” says analyst Krishna Guha.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday said the government will be raising the top marginal buyer's stamp duty (BSD) rates for residential properties by 1 percentage point to 4%.

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