Published November 11, 2009

All tools to avoid property boom, bust

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FINANCE Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday said the government will use every tool at its disposal 'in a calibrated fashion' to prevent boom and bust in the property market. One day after the Monetary Authority of Singapore served notice of further action to cool the housing market if needed, in the face of growing speculation risks, Mr Tharman spoke about the need to manage the property cycle.

It won't involve macroeconomic levers such as the interest rate or exchange rate, though, as such tools apply across the board to businesses at large, not just the asset markets.

'But we do have other tools like credit rules, land supply decisions and, in the extreme, tax policies, which we will use in a calibrated fashion depending on the circumstance, depending on the stage of the asset market.' He was speaking about managing volatility generally at an Economic Strategies Committee industry forum when he cited the property market. 'We will keep our eyes on the ball and use every tool at our disposal in a calibrated fashion to try to manage . . . as best as we can,' he said.

But it's 'very hard to anticipate four to five years in advance what's going to happen globally, regionally and hence within this global city', he said, recalling how the government did pay heed to market signals of a supply glut in the property sector a few years ago, but found instead, by 2006 and 2007, a severe shortage, especially in the office market.