The Singaporean government has introduced measures to cool demand and expand supply in a bid to moderate the increase in housing prices.
While the measures have dampened speculative buying, demand for residential property remains firm, and prices have continued to rise.
The buoyancy of the property market reflects low interest rates and ongoing income growth in Singapore.
These factors supported a record level of housing transactions last year, especially from investment demand.
Housing prices have also shown signs of reaccelerating in recent months.
Price increases, if unchecked, will run further ahead of economic fundamentals and raise the risk of a destabilising correction later on.
On Jan 11 this year, the government announced a further set of measures to cool the housing market, effective the next day.
They include a rise in duties to 5-7% for permanent residents buying their first residential property and for Singaporeans buying their second.
Loan-to-value limits on housing loans will be tightened for individuals who already have at least one outstanding loan and for non-individuals.
Besides tighter loan-to-value limits, the minimum cash down payment for individuals applying for a second or subsequent housing loan will be raised to 25% from 10%.
The measures are meant to tamp down property ownership for investment, especially by foreign buyers, but will not affect most Singaporeans buying their first home.
To discourage overborrowing, financing conditions have also been tightened.