New Temporary Relief Measures to cushion property developers from CoVID-19 impact on real estate market

Developers with projects under construction but yet to be completed will now have more time to sell and construct.

The Government announced today temporary relief measures for property developers affected by disruptions to construction timelines and sales of housing units resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular the implementation of the circuit breaker from 7 April to 1 June 2020. The Government will continue to ensure that prices for private residential properties remain broadly consistent with economic fundamentals. Hence, these temporary relief measures do not alter the other existing residential property market cooling measures.

Real estate consultant Kiwi Lim from Huttons Asia Pte Ltd believe these new timely relief measures will prevent developers from being pressured to offer steep discounts due to Covid-19 effect on the market.

Buyers of projects like One Pearl Bank - an iconic rare city condo on top of the beautiful Pearl's Hill will have more time under the progressive payment scheme to pay their instalments. Click to find out more.

The temporary relief measures for developers, to be implemented with immediate effect, are:

(i) Extension of the Project Completion Period (PCP) by 6 months for residential, commercial and industrial development projects;

(ii) Extension of time by 6 months for the commencement and completion of residential development, and sale of housing units in residential development projects in relation to the remission of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for housing developers;

(iii) Extension of the PCP and/or disposal period by up to a total of 6 months for residential development projects under the Qualifying Certificate (QC) regime for foreign housing developers

Residential condo projects like Leedon Green (former Tulip Garden) a quality development by MCLLand and Yanlord Land in exclusive private enclave, near 2 MRT & popular schools - will enjoy relief over completion dates.

The PCP for qualifying residential development projects on Government sale sites, or on land which was directly alienated or had their lease renewed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), will be extended by 6 months. To qualify for the extension, both of the following conditions are to be met:

(i) The land was awarded on or before 1 June 2020, or the land was directly alienated or had their lease renewed by SLA on or before 1 June 2020; and

(ii) The original timeline for the project to be completed was on or after 1 February 2020.

Eligible developers will be notified by the respective agencies. No application is necessary.

Condo projects like Jui Residences will enjoy an extension of the PCP and / or disposal period by up to a total of 6 months for residential projects under the Qualifying Certificate (QC) regime for foreign housing developers

Under the ABSD regime, developers are to commence and complete the residential development, and sell all housing units in the residential development project within the specified timelines[3], failing which they will be subject to the ABSD on the purchase of the land. Under the temporary relief measures, the specified commencement, completion and sale timelines will be extended by 6 months, for qualifying residential property developments.

To qualify for the extension of the specified timeline for commencement of residential development, both of the following conditions are to be met:

(i) The land was purchased on or before 1 June 2020; and

(ii) The original timeline for commencement of the residential development expired on or after 1 February 2020.

Extracted from MND Newsroom Press Release on 6 May 2020