The Singapore property market is bracing for a slowdown, with experts predicting a steep drop in transaction volume and prices over the next few months.
This comes after tougher residential property measures kicked in on Thursday, hours after they were announced on Wednesday night.
Under the new measures, foreigners and companies must pay an additional stamp duty of 10 percent of the value of residential property purchases in Singapore.
Permanent residents who buy a second property and citizens who buy three or more properties will pay an extra 3 percent.
The new stamp duty is on top of the prevailing fees of between one and three per cent.
Property buyers hit hardest by the new measure would be foreigners like Norman Lu.
The 34-year-old healthcare consultant arrived in Singapore a year ago to work in a multinational company.
Mr Lu is renting a place, but in the last three months he has been looking to buy a condominium in Paya Lebar or Braddell. However the new rules have put a stop to such plans.
He said: "We are very disappointed. Even though we are foreigners, we have been working in Singapore for a year, we also contribute to this country. So as a foreigner, we feel that the government does not welcome us."
Mr Lu said he was on the verge of closing a deal, but will need to evaluate his options now.
He said: "(There is) 80 per cent (chance that) I will not buy now. I will wait for one year, then I can get PR (permanent resident status) then I will buy a private condo or buy an HDB flat."
His other options include leaving Singapore, "because I can easily find another job opportunity in another country" and "if property owners drop the price by 10 to 15 per cent, then I will buy a condo immediately because I want to stay in my own property."
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