The revised SSD will not affect owners of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats due to the Minimum Occupation Period for HDB properties.
In 2017, the SSD holding period was reduced from four to three years. SSD rates were also reduced by four percentage points for each tier of the holding period.
However, the ministry said the government has noticed that the number of private residential property transactions with short holding periods has increased sharply.
“In particular, there has been a significant increase in the sub-sale of units that have not been completed,” it added.
“Therefore, the government will revert to the pre-2017 SSD holding period of four years, and raise the SSD rates by four percentage points for each tier of the holding period.”
The last time the government intervened in the private property market was in April 2023, when foreigners buying residential property in Singapore saw the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) double to 60 per cent. Singaporeans buying their second residential property also had to pay an ABSD rate of 20 per cent, up from 17 per cent.