Given the red hot property market last year, S$6.84 billion in property stamp duty was collected in 2021. This is more than twice the stamp duty collected in 2020, and 67.7% higher than what was collected pre-pandemic in 2019.
According to the Department of Statistics, S$3.29 billion of stamp duty was collected in 2020, while S$4.08 billion was collected in 2019.
The rise in stamp duty collection came as sales were robust and property prices reached new highs. For instance, prices were up by 10.6% for the whole of 2021 compared to the 2.2% increase in 2020. On top of that, last year saw several high profile GCB transactions by tech and crypto CEOs.
There were also notable en bloc sales last year, such as the collective sale of the land parcels at Thiam Siew Avenue for S$815 million in November. It was also the largest land sale since the 2018 cooling measures.
According to our Researcher data, a total of 66,710 residential property transactions were recorded last year, an increase of nearly 50% from the previous year.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Stamp duty | S$4.0777b | S$3.2892b | S$6.8374 |
| Residential property transactions | 41,929 | 45,633 | 66,710 |
On the other hand, after the new round of cooling measures was announced in December 2021 (which included raising the ABSD rate for the purchase of a second property onwards), stamp duty collection was down by 4.76% in Q1 2022, compared to Q1 2021.
S$1.503 billion of stamp duty was paid in Q1 2022, slightly lower than the S$1.58 billion collected in Q1 2021.
In the same period, prices of private residential properties increased at a slower rate of 0.7%. The total number of private home transactions was also lower at 5,343.
Prices of HDB resale flats also had a lower quarterly increase at 2.4%, and a 12.7% drop in resale transactions.
Nevertheless, given that prices are still expected to increase (albeit at a slower rate), stamp duty collection for this year will likely increase as well.
What do you think of the increase in property stamp duty collection? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Facebook post.
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