The government has reinstated the Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) holding period to four years, effective from July 4, with rates increased by four percentage points across all tiers, reverting to levels seen before March 2017.
In a joint statement issued late on July 3, the Ministry of National Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore attributed the policy change to a steady rise in sub-sales since 2020.
Sub-sales — transactions where buyers resell uncompleted units before obtaining the Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) — are sometimes viewed as a proxy for speculative activity, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
Why has the SSD been raised?
Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show a significant increase in sub-sale transactions, from 198 units in 2020 to 1,428 in 2024. The rise coincided with construction delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a sharp recovery in property prices, which have climbed about 40% since 2020.
“Some owners likely didn’t intend to flip their properties initially but ended up doing so due to significant capital gains as prices surged,” says Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Construction bottlenecks during the pandemic delayed project completions, explains Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
Since 1Q2023, the average quarterly sub-sale volume has hovered around 338 units — more than double the 131-unit quarterly average from 2013 to 2022. Many of these sales were made by buyers who entered the market during the low interest rate environment prior to 2022 but now face higher financing costs.
Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Realion Group, says the SSD adjustment is a pre-emptive step to limit future speculative activity, especially as more developments near completion. She notes that private home completions are expected to rise from 5,920 units in 2025 to 6,838 in 2026 and 10,306 in 2027.
Source: PropNex Research, URA
Sub-sales already on a decline
Despite an earlier spike to a 14-year high of 9.5% of total private residential transactions in 4Q2023, sub-sale activity has moderated to 6.5% in 2024 and declined further to 4.4% and 4.5% in 1Q2025 and 2Q2025, respectively, according to CBRE Research.
“With property prices stabilising and construction timelines normalising, we expect sub-sales to return to more sustainable levels,” says Song.
Gafoor adds that sub-sales in recent years have remained below the levels recorded from 2007 to 2012. He views the latest SSD revision as a pre-emptive move to moderate short-term resales, particularly as the government plans to ramp up private housing supply across new neighbourhoods.
Who will be affected?
While the SSD targets short-term speculation, most homeowners are unlikely to be impacted. Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, notes that the majority of sellers hold their properties for at least five years. In 1H2025, 72.1% of homeowners sold after five years or more.
However, there has been a notable rise in transactions involving properties held for three to four years — from 358 cases in 2021 to 2,104 in 2024. In 1H2025 alone, there were 858 such sales, accounting for 14.7% of resale transactions. Most of these were in the Outside Central Region (OCR), where entry prices are typically lower.
Source: URA, ERA Market Intelligence
Chu says factors such as elevated interest rates since late 2022 and property tax revisions in 2023 have reduced investment yields, prompting some sellers to bring forward their exit. Still, the data shows that the highest gross profits are made by those who hold their properties for five years or more.
Effect of sub-sales on market prices
According to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, SSD may not have a significant effect on market prices. A correlation test between sub-sale volumes and the URA price index from 2017 to 2Q2025 revealed a weak relationship of -0.045.
Instead, a strong correlation (0.727) was found between sub-sale volumes and the number of units launched three years prior. “This suggests that sub-sales are more influenced by launch volumes than speculative intent,” says Lee.
Chu adds that the 2023 hike in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) has had a greater impact, resulting in more local and owner-occupier buyers. “Given today’s economic uncertainty, most buyers are cautious and view property as a long-term investment,” he says.
Sources: CBRE Research, URA, IRAS
What lies ahead?
With more new launches expected, a greater land supply under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, and declining interest rates improving affordability, transaction activity is likely to pick up in the coming months. Still, analysts agree the SSD increase is mainly targeted at short-term investors.
“This SSD revision is a calibrated measure, not a broad-based cooling move,” says Gafoor. He doesn’t foresee a significant market impact, as most buyers now adopt a mid- to long-term view. “Moreover, current buyer sentiment is largely end-user driven, with most either buying for own stay or for long-term rental income.”
Private home prices have also moderated and are expected to remain stable through the rest of the year. This could dampen any urgency to sell properties within a short holding period. According to flash estimates, private residential prices rose just 1.3% in 1H2025, down from 2.3% in 1H2024.
The market has shown signs of moderation, as seen in the 2Q2025 flash estimates, where private residential prices rose just 1.3% in 1H2025, down from 2.3% in 1H2024 (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
“The market has shown signs of moderation, as seen in the 2Q2025 flash estimates, with slower sales take-up — particularly in projects located in the Core Central Region — amid heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties,” says a spokesperson for the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS).
Hence, REDAS expects the revisions in SSD to have a “limited impact on genuine homebuyers, particularly Singaporeans and permanent residents”.
Meanwhile, some investors may switch to commercial assets — such as strata offices and shophouses — which are not subject to SSD or ABSD, notes Gafoor.
