Hike in seller's stamp duty surprises some amid moderating property market but is ultimately prudent

With the growth momentum in private home prices moderating and the proportion of sub-sales declining in recent quarters, some have questioned why steps are being taken at this juncture to tame sub-sales, or units sold before a property has attained completion status.

- Grace Leong

The latest revision to the seller's stamp duty (SSD) regime extends the SSD holding period from three to four years and raises SSD rates by 4 percentage points across all tiers with effect from July 4.

It is a prudent move for several reasons.

With the sharp drop in domestic interest rates since the start of 2025, and the number of private residential housing units reaching temporary occupation permit (TOP) set to double by 2027, short-term speculative buying or flipping activity could easily spike.

Also fuelling this possibility is the fact that more new private residential launches are set to hit the market shortly, and the Government is planning to roll out more private housing units in various new neighbourhoods in future.

Following the latest move, sellers of private homes have to pay higher SSD rates of between 4 per cent and 16 per cent if they are selling the property less than four years after purchase.

The SSD was previously payable by those who sell a residential property within three years of purchase, at rates of between 4 per cent and 12 per cent.