Singapore Property Developers Have a New Headache
- Developers may have to discount prices or face stiff penalties
- Unforeseen consequence may prolong three-year home price slide
A worker rides a suspended platform as he performs construction work at a residential building at Gramercy Park, a freehold residential project developed by City Developments Ltd., in Singapore, on Thursday, May 19, 2016. City Developments, Singapore's second-largest developer, may seek to buy offices this year as rising interest rates makes such assets cheaper worldwide.
Photographer: Nicky Loh/BloombergSingapore’s recent unwinding of some property curbs, which initially appeared to boost prospects for developers, may instead be creating new problems.
After regulators closed a tax loophole that allowed developers to offload apartments in bulk to institutional investors and wealthy Singaporeans, many of the city’s builders now face an unpalatable choice: discount unsold luxury homes or pay stiff penalties for missing government-mandated sales deadlines.