With the number of new launches over the past few years (and despite the notion that the property market is hot), there are still a fair few that have units left to move before their ABSD deadline.

Buyers who are hoping for a discount will sometimes track projects nearing the deadline, in the belief that developers will slash prices for the last remaining units. This sometimes happens, though developers often prefer to sell the remaining units collectively to a single entity (as opposed to disparate sales to individual buyers).

What is the ABSD deadline, and why would there be discounts?

Developers are required to pay 40 per cent ABSD on the land price when they purchase a plot for development. Assuming the developer can complete and sell every unit within five years, they can then claim ABSD remission (although five per cent is non-remissible, so they have to pay at least 5 per cent ABSD).

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