Government announced easing of certain cooling measures

The Government has announced the easing of following property cooling measures:

1. Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) holding period reduced to 3 years;
2. SSD rates lowered by 4% points for each tier.
3. Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) threshold will no longer apply to mortgage equity withdrawal loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 50% & below.

​Sources: Straits Times Graphics 

​he reduction of the SSD holding period is no doubt welcomed news but the easing of the TDSR framework may have a more immediate impact, especially for investors whom have invested into real estate many years back.

This group of investors can now seek to cash out on the equity portion of their properties should they need to, for  needs such as business funding, children's education or even retirement purposes.

However, while cashing out on the equity portion of property allows access to more resources, it also increases one's liability as well, as the equity term loan will require monthly repayments over the loan tenure granted.