REDAS urges against further tightening measures

By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The government should allow the recent cooling measures in the public housing market to take their course, said Wong Heang Fine, President of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS) and reported by The Business Times.

In a speech given at REDAS' 53rd anniversary dinner, Wong noted that with low interest rates and high liquidity, it was an unusual time for property developers. He also urged policymakers to refrain from further tightening "the demand tap" as cooling measures introduced have eased the market.

"We do not want a situation where people look back and say we overdid it in our policy measures."

While REDAS supports the government in encouraging a sustainable and stable market, the cooling measures have affected private developers who are facing rising land costs.

"Coupled with pent-up demand for homes from new households every year, we have seen record housing prices both for HDB homes as well as private residential units."

With land like flour in the "bread" for developers, they are left with no choice but to offer bids despite the high price.

Wong said that the decline in property prices might lead to "undesirable consequences" as 90 percent of Singaporean households are homeowners, adding that this may be the perfect time to balance the housing policy menu.

Going forward, REDAS will release a paper reflecting the collective voice of developers on the vision of Singapore in 2030 and the challenges of property development. Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@allproperty.com.sg Related Stories:

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