By Property Soul (guest contributor)

On February 10 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a press release to broaden the existing exemption from the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) rules introduced in June last year. Market watchers have debated whether this just a tweak or a sign that the government is loosening its cooling measures due to the recent weak market sentiment.

Fine-tuning financing restrictions a norm?

Financing restrictions introduced by MAS under the context of prudent borrowing are usually made effective the following day. However, it is not uncommon to see subsequent fine-tuning after the announcement.

Motor vehicle loans are a good example:

- On 25 February 2013, MAS imposed financing restrictions on car loans that cap maximum loan-to-value to 50 or 60 percent and loan tenure to five years.

- On March 8, after “carefully considering the feedback received from different groups”, the physically disabled and ...