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Singapore's cooling measures and its housing market

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  • Deng, Yongheng
  • Gyourko, Joseph
  • Li, Teng

Abstract

With real estate markets booming in Asia, governments are trying to stabilize property prices to address deteriorating affordability conditions, especially for superstar cities. There have been various economic interventions across countries, but little has been learnt about the true effects of such policy actions for housing markets or the broader economy. In this paper, we use both macro-level economic data and micro-level house transaction datasets to evaluate the effects of the cooling measures in Singapore. We find that the policies appear to have achieved their primary goals: house prices have fallen by 10%–15% according to different price indices for the public and private sectors. We also show that there is no clear evidence that the cooling measures caused significant collateral damage to the broader economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Deng, Yongheng & Gyourko, Joseph & Li, Teng, 2019. "Singapore's cooling measures and its housing market," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:45:y:2019:i:c:1
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2018.04.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian A. L. Hilber & Olivier Schoni, 2022. "Housing policy and affordable housing," CEP Occasional Papers 56, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Badarinza, Cristian & Ramadorai, Tarun & Shimizu, Chihiro, 2022. "Gravity, counterparties, and foreign investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 132-152.
    3. Funk, Bryana & Amer, Saud A. & Ward, Frank A., 2023. "Sustainable aquifer management for food security," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Zhu, Yaqun & Kong, Jun, 2025. "Homeownership and public sector employment: Evidence from the removal of home purchase restrictions in China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Huang, Naqun & Li, Hao & Yang, Yanmin, 2024. "The role of speculation on housing price disparities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Singapore housing market; House prices; Housing supply and demand; HDB; Private market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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