Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said more measures, if necessary, will be taken to cool the property market.
He was addressing 1,000 unionists at the labour movement's National Delegates Conference on Monday. Just last Friday, the government withdrew the deferred payment scheme for property purchases in a move to cool the booming property market.
But PM Lee said other measures will follow, if necessary.
"This step will help to dampen excessive speculation and to inject some reality into the market. But more fundamental than the ups and downs of the property cycle, the government is committed to keeping housing affordable for Singaporeans," said the Prime Minister.
"We will continue to monitor the property market carefully and watch the trends. If necessary, we will continue to take more action... and make sure that the property market stays in balance over the long term," he added.
The Prime Minister also added that the government is keeping a close watch on the financial markets, given the recent turmoil over the US housing credit crisis.
PM Lee said: "But the impact is not just the US sub-prime mortgages. It is much wider and has affected the financial markets around the world. There is nervousness and instability. Prices go down even on the Singapore market.
"So the big question is will this cause a recession in the US and affect the real economy. The answer is, 'We can't tell, maybe.' The next question after that is, if there is a recession in America will it affect Singapore? That answer I can tell you is 'Yes, it must affect Singapore.' "
Overall, though, the Prime Minister is keeping to a positive outlook, saying he is confident that Singapore can achieve the higher end of the 7-8 percent growth forecast for the whole of 2007. - CNA /ls
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2 comments:
DBS Vickers said that removing deferred payment would dampen home sales as potential buyers might have seen the scheme as a way to come out with a smaller initial outlay in capital.
It also believed the move will curb speculative buying on high-end properties.
Equally bearish is CIMB-GK, which said yesterday that selling prices may fall by 10 to 15 per cent as the speculative froth is removed.
And the worst hit may be the mass market where buyers are 'typically more cost-sensitive and reliant on deferred payment'.
Based on what PM Lee has said means the mass market will be kept in check. Definitely the mass market condos are in trouble now.
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