Source: Business Times, 20 Feb 2010

Additional measures to prevent property boom was announced. Firstly, people who buy a residential property and sell it within a year will be taxed by the seller’s stamp duty (SSD) which applies to all residential properties and residential lands, except for HDB flats. Furthermore, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit on housing loans will be reduced from 90 per cent to 80 per cent.

Presently, stamp duty is only taxed for the purchase of property. Thus, SSD will be applied at the same rate as the buyer’s stamp duty- one per cent for the first $180,000 of the consideration, 2 per cent for the next $180,000 and 3 per cent for the balance. However, for HDB flats, loans being granted will still have a 90 per cent cap.

It was noted by market watchers that the recent 2 cooling measures are similar to tools used in May 1996 anti-speculation measures. However, the government's approach now is to administer smaller doses.