Revised ABSD rules for upgraders, more GLS sites in OCR among PropNex’s Budget 2023 wishlist

In its wish list, PropNex Realty has proposed a revision in additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) remission rules for married couples who are upgrading from HDB flats to private homes. Noting the upfront ABSD payment – at 17% for Singaporeans buying a second residential property – is “the biggest hurdle” for many families looking to upgrade to private property, PropNex proposes the government consider revising the rules such that they are more aligned to those applicable to buyers upgrading from an HDB flat to an executive condominium (EC).

At the same time the company is recommending further details be provided on the wait-out period announced as part of the cooling measures rolled out in September 2022. Under this measure, private homeowners must now wait 15 months from the sale of their property before they can buy an unsubsidised HDB resale flat. The wait-out period will not apply to seniors aged 55 years and above who are moving to a four-room or smaller resale flat.

PropNex is also calling for an increase in Government Land Sale (GLS) sites located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) under the 2H2023 GLS Programme. Last month, the government unveiled the 1H2023 GLS Programme with seven sites on the Confirmed List and nine sites on the Reserve List, which can yield a total of 4,090 residential units including ECs.

The wish list also suggests the government reduce waiting times for Build-to-Order projects from the current length typically exceeding four years down to three years. Ismail Gafoor, executive chairman and CEO of PropNex, comments, “As the borders reopen and workers return to support the construction sector post-pandemic, and with the continued use of productivity measures such as precast technology, perhaps the government can consider building more BTO projects in advance ahead of the sales launch.”

In a Jan 12 press release, PropNex offered its recommendations “to further support home ownership as well as to meet housing Tengah Plantation EC aspirations of Singapore households”, in anticipation of the Budget 2023 announcement on Feb 14. “In Budget 2023, we hope that some housing policies could be tweaked to help certain segments of the population own homes and upgrade to a private property,” says Gafoor.