Singapore Expats

I have overseas property and interests.

There is no way the liquidity and capital growth here are keeping up with world norms.

In my place no one has been able to sell for over a year (in a private freehold condo) - why would anyone pay a 60% ABSD.

The market is dead. Anyone holding property who wants to vacate it now has to rent it out. This is partly why the rent market went (or is?) a bit stupid - a lot of new LL./

I am so pissed off.

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Sat, 14 Jun 2025 9:58 pm

I have overseas property and interests.

There is no way the liquidity and capital growth here are keeping up with world norms.

In my place no one has been able to sell for over a year (in a private freehold condo) - why would anyone pay a 60% ABSD.

The market is dead. Anyone holding property who wants to vacate it now has to rent it out. This is partly why the rent market went (or is?) a bit stupid - a lot of new LL./

I am so pissed off.

I reckon the intention with the ABSD was to stop speculation and the ever spiraling real estate costs in Singapore. From that perspective, it's certainly working.

It should be reduced else a lot of condos are just going to be stuck as the interest from foreigners have waned. Even the rich won't be willing to pay 60%

I see locals going after all the new launch properties...not sure why, units/rooms are way smaller and pricier, FOMO perhaps

Exactly Abby.

Exactly Abby. And those stuck condo owners are getting annoyed. We have managed to sell one unit in my condo though a month ago so cheaper units are still moving but only to Singapore buyers of course.

The real risk is asset depreciation if you own like I do.

Good. A house is for living in, for starting a family, for bringing up your children. The purpose of a house is not to be feverishly exploited by speculators.

Next.

While I agree if we don't keep up we fall off the property ladder.

Locals, new PR and new citizens are rushing to buy new launches.

I guess gov's intention is to attract foreigners to be PR or citizen. ABSD is helping population growth but not property appreciation.

Hope they can lower it in the future. 60% is too much.

I find it interesting that some locals don't realise how much of the private market was/is held by foreigners. Generally the reaction is "so?" - and then I explain how their condo may actually end up falling in value (or plateauing as they seem to be) without the approx 15% foreign buyer uptake (now down to 1 or 2%). Add on that Singaporeans (and PR) can no longer effectively build a private property portfolio as they fathers did (some of the old fellows here own 10 or 20) and the ABSD seems generationally unfair to me.

Very much agree!

Also they should have allow more leeway for locals who buy second home then sell first home. Current arrangement is too rigid.

Well boomers even in Singapore, are doing their best to pull the ladder up after themselves.

The gahmen and boomers really abuse the younger gen. It's only when you have travelled and read and have kids under 50 that you realize how bad it is here.

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 7:07 am

I find it interesting that some locals don't realise how much of the private market was/is held by foreigners. Generally the reaction is "so?" - and then I explain how their condo may actually end up falling in value (or plateauing as they seem to be) without the approx 15% foreign buyer uptake (now down to 1 or 2%). Add on that Singaporeans (and PR) can no longer effectively build a private property portfolio as they fathers did (some of the old fellows here own 10 or 20) and the ABSD seems generationally unfair to me.

Totally agree... ABSD is killing the market especially ccr and areas popular with foreigners. Its quite unfair. And furthermore locals have no opportunity to invest in more properties here given the high ABSD.

From what I've seen, stuff located by a highly sought after school is still moving fairly quick, as long as it's not too old (< 20 years). Older stuff takes longer, but it eventually moves. That being said, things may get worse as the years go by because the condo supply keeps increasing.

IMO, people have put too much weight on tenure. First, you end up locking up more capital in one asset (need to weigh the opportunity cost of investing the difference). Second, while better than old leasehold, liquidity still declines, as many buyers just aren't interested in old units (repair issues, style, etc). Still, I don't doubt that it's even worse now with investor/landlord demand out of the picture.

Many people are probably better off with one unit and a portfolio of shares/bonds instead of multiple properties, although that's not a good justification for the policy itself.

Yes age is an issue with badly managed developments.

And now locals are the ones who cannot stop buying new launches causing property prices to rise so much. So I think time to remove / reduce ABSD and perhaps look into capital gain tax (ie: selling in 3rd,4th,5th yr) to reduce the speculative behaviour. It's not healthy for the next generation who are buying properties