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For those who have been keeping track of new land releases in Singapore, it may seem like  bit of a puzzle why the government has released land plots in some very pricey areas late: And a few others in places like Bukit Timah (Turf City), or where you find residents who consider real Bird’s Nest to be a casual beverage.  This is in the immediate aftermath of ABSD measures, which raised stamp duties on foreigners to 60 per cent. And as we’ve pointed out in , prime areas bear the brunt of this. These are the preferred locations for wealthy foreigners, who are now disincentivised; but that hardly means the average Singaporean is going to be buying a condo in Orchard Boulevard.  From word on the ground, viewings at properties have also been dropping; Singaporeans already struggle with family units reaching $2 million, so it’s going to be a narrow slice of the population that would go for prime region new launches. Even developers know enough to be nervous, with the recent failure of the being an example.  In any case, given Singapore’s declining birth rates and the current high foreigners ABSD it points to either an increase in foreigners in the future or a relaxation of the ABSD rules.  And in light of how much prices rose during Covid, it may be high time we saw the release of more land in OCR areas. This will raise the number of homes for the average Singaporean, with more palatable prices. But in the meantime, raising the supply in prime areas – whoever may be buying – will just apply even more downward pressure than the ABSD in the region.  (Unless that the deliberate intent, and the government has a long term game plan of making sure more locals aren’t priced out of our city centre maybe?) I don’t think this is out of the question for locals who need to rent. As some of you know, I dislike the mentality that – just because very few Singaporeans rent – we allow landlords to pretty much have things their way.  But there’s something seemingly few people remember or know: It even lasted surprisingly long, with the final rent-controlled areas ending only in 2001 under the   In the aftermath of WWII (around 1947), Singapore actually did have rent control, due to a surging need for accommodation after the Japanese Occupation. But because there was a need to encourage new construction to raise supply, there was a compromise: the rent control only applied to buildings that were built in ‘47 or before.  Way to crush our architectural heritage, since the owners of the older buildings just stopped renovating them, and let them become slums. Why would they bother? Rent couldn’t go up. This was the period in which shophouses – which were the bulk of rent-controlled assets – were actually among the worst properties to own, unlike today. Eventually the government started to remove rent controls, but they had to do it one area at a time, while keeping pace with the rising availability of new construction (otherwise you just get a lot of homeless people, if you remove all the rent control at one go).  This was what created the Golden Shoe Area in the city centre, in 1970 (the area around Raffles Place to Cecil Road). This was the first area where rent control was removed, and property values here boomed; so now you know how the name came about.  From the ‘70s to ‘80s, rent control was gradually removed from parts of the city, right up till the final end in ‘01. And with the removal of rent control, there was also renewed interest in buildings like shophouses.  So it’s not that we haven’t tried it before; and hopefully we’ve learned our lesson if we decide to try it again.  Follow us on Stacked for more news and details in the Singapore property market.