Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister for Social and Family Development, reckons there is a need for cooling measures to prevent from overheating in the property market.

“We are tracking the property market very closely. Where we are today from 2013, the private property market declined, but has stabilised,” says Tan. “The HDB resale market is also stabilising.” Tan was speaking in a dialogue session at ERA’s 2017 Asia Pacific Business Conference at Marina Bay Sands Grand Ballroom on Feb 28.

The conference was held in conjunction with ERA’s 35th anniversary. It gathered over 2,000 agents and brokers from Singapore as well as other countries in the region.

Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty, believes that prices has stabilised. He expects the increase in transaction volume last year to carry forward into 2017. Buyers are taking a longer term view that the market will eventually rebound and are confident that there is upside potential in the medium to the longer term, adds Lim.

“Individuals from neighbouring countries are looking in Singapore as a place to invest in properties. We are very optimistic with Singapore’s market,” says Patrick Walujo, CEO and Managing Partner of North Star who was also present at the event

Nevertheless, ERA chief operating officer Marcus Chu raised the issue of rising vacancies in the dialogue. Prior to 2014, there was a property tax refund for vacant residential and non-residential properties. Today, property owners who could not find tenants have to bear with maintenance costs and property tax, according to Chu.

"We hear the concerns on this front, and this is something which the Ministry of Finance will closely look at. Should there be a need for us to perhaps step in with various relief efforts, we will do that,” says Tan.