On July 28, the government removed a crucial property cooling measure that shaped the swift recovery in the property market after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting from today, private property owners no longer have to wait 15 months after selling their home before they can buy a resale flat. In a speech announcing the change, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said that the measure had achieved its purpose, and that market conditions have stabilised sufficiently to remove it. For anyone who remembers why the 15-month wait-out period was implemented in the first place, this announcement is probably less surprising than it appears. A property cooling measure designed to deal with a situational problem When the wait-out period was introduced back in September 2022, Singapore’s resale HDB market appeared to be in danger of overheating. Resale prices had risen by 10.4% that year, and this was a slowdown at that point. The strong...