http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-23/citigroup-downplays-property-bubble-in-singapore-southeast-asia.html
Citigroup Inc. said it’s “encouraging” that Singapore’s household debt tied to the real estate market is only a fraction of property values, downplaying concerns of a bubble.
Singapore’s S$203 billion ($160 billion) of mortgages amounted to 24.2 percent of the value of residential properties in the third quarter, according to Citigroup’s analysis of government data.
The lender, the biggest employer among foreign banks on the island with 10,000 employees, offers housing and car loans as well as credit cards and other banking services.
Singapore’s fourth-quarter home prices slid 0.9 percent, falling for the first time in almost two years as the government introduced more taxes and restrictions to widen a campaign that began in 2009 to curb speculation.
The central bank said last month that new residential loans have declined and household balance sheets are strong, following a Forbes article that said the city is headed for an “Iceland-style meltdown.”
Concerns of a property bubble in Singapore came after Singapore’s home prices rose in the past five years to a record amid low interest rates. Residential values jumped 61 percent since mid-2009, when they were at their lowest in 2 1/2 years following the 2008 global financial crisis.
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