Property Cooling Measures

How cooling measures work

The Government has two main levers:

Lever	Tools	Effect
Stamp duties	ABSD, SSD	Make buying extra homes, or selling quickly, more expensive
Loan limits	LTV, TDSR, MSR, loan tenure caps	Limit how much, and for how long, buyers can borrow

Key rounds since 2012

Date	Measure
Oct 2012	Maximum loan tenure of 35 years for bank housing loans
Jan 2013	30% MSR introduced for public housing loans
Jun 2013	TDSR framework introduced, at 60%
Aug 2013	Maximum tenure for loans on HDB flats cut from 35 to 30 years; LTV limits for public housing lowered
Mar 2017	SSD holding period cut to 3 years
Jul 2018	LTV limits lowered by 5 points; ABSD rates raised
Dec 2021	TDSR tightened from 60% to 55%; ABSD rates raised
Sep 2022	Interest rate floor for TDSR and MSR raised by 0.5 point; 15-month wait-out for private owners buying HDB resale flats
Apr 2023	ABSD rates raised across the board, except for developers and citizens’ and PRs’ first homes
Aug 2024	HDB loan LTV limit cut from 80% to 75%
Jul 2025	SSD holding period raised from 3 to 4 years, with higher rates
Jul 2026	15-month wait-out removed

Example

An investor bought a condo in 2024 and another in August 2025. The second purchase is caught by the July 2025 SSD change: selling it within four years means paying SSD, from 16% in the first year down to 4% in the fourth. The first condo, bought before 4 July 2025, keeps the old three-year schedule.

Common mistakes

• Assuming old rules still apply. Check the date each rule took effect against your purchase date.
• Expecting measures only to tighten. Some, like the wait-out period, are later removed.
• Ignoring loan rules. Stamp duties get the headlines, but LTV and TDSR limits often decide how much you can buy.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Singapore use cooling measures?

To keep the property market stable and sustainable, encourage prudent borrowing and moderate demand when prices rise quickly, as the Government's announcements state.

Are cooling measures permanent?

Not all. Some are reversed when conditions change. The 15-month wait-out for private property owners buying HDB resale flats, introduced on 30 September 2022, was removed on 28 July 2026 after HDB resale prices moderated.

Do the measures apply to HDB flats?

Some do. The MSR and the HDB loan LTV limit apply to HDB flats. SSD rarely affects HDB owners, because the minimum occupation period is longer than the SSD holding period.

Related terms

• Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD)
• Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD)
• Loan-to-Value Limit (LTV)
• Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR)
• Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)

Sources

1. Macroprudential policies in Singapore (MAS)
2. Measures to promote sustainable conditions in the property market (29 September 2022) (MAS)
3. Measures to cool the HDB resale market and provide more support for first-time home buyers (19 August 2024) (MND)
4. Extension of the holding period of Seller's Stamp Duty and higher SSD rates (3 July 2025) (MAS)
5. Removal of the 15-month wait-out period for private residential property owners (28 July 2026) (HDB)