The MAS, MND, URA are keeping close tabs on property price hikes, and will intervene before the market overheats.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is being “highly vigilant” of the continued increase in property prices and will intervene before the market overheats, reported TODAY.
“MAS, together with MND (Ministry of National Development) and URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) remain highly vigilant to the risk of a sustained increase in prices relative to income trends,” said MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon during the media briefing of the MAS’ annual report.
He noted that while economic growth is yet to fully recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, property prices have already increased above their pre-pandemic levels.
Specifically, nominal gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 8.2% last year, while the residential property price index climbed 1.6%.
For the first quarter of 2021, nominal GDP remains 4% below its pre-pandemic levels, while the private property price index stood 5.6% above its pre-pandemic levels.
Menon explained that a prolonged divergence between incomes and housing prices is unsustainable.
On whether the property market is on the “overheating stage” and if MAS plans to introduce cooling measures to curb further property price hikes, the MAS chief shared that he does not believe the market is overheated.
“If it’s overheated, we’ve not done our job well. The approach of the Government is to prevent the market from overheating,” he noted as quoted by TODAY.
He said MAS will “never tell in advance” if it will roll out cooling measures since doing so would only defeat the purpose of the curbs.
“So stay tuned and just watch, and we hope the market will continue to remain stable and that we don’t have to make any moves,” he said.
“Our goal is to make sure that the property market does not get ahead of underlying economic fundamentals… we’ll continue to watch how the market moves from here onwards, before we make any judgements.”
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
