In this section
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Rates Tracker
Singapore mortgage rates
16 indicative packages across 7 lenders — 1M SORA, 3M SORA and board rates from 1.35% p.a., compared side by side.
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Borrowing Rules
TDSR: how much can you borrow?
How the 55% income limit (TDSR) and the 4%-or-higher stress test work — check your borrowing limit against our income lookup table, and see how existing debt lowers it.
- Coming Soon
Stamp duty: BSD, ABSD & SSD
Every stamp duty rate, ABSD remission conditions, and a worked example — plus the calculator.
- Coming Soon
Using CPF for property
How much CPF you can use, and what you need to return — with interest — when you sell.
Know these five terms first
- LTV (Loan-to-Value) — how much a bank will lend you — up to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower.
- TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) — the limit on all your monthly debts combined. It is set at 55% of your gross income.
- MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio) — a 30% cap on the housing instalment — stricter than TDSR, for HDB flats and new executive condominiums.
- SORA — the daily benchmark rate that floating home loans are based on. Published by MAS.
- Stamp duty — the tax you pay the government when you buy a home, and sometimes again when you sell early.
How much you can borrow, and what decides it
MAS sets three rules that decide how much you can borrow. One sets a limit on the loan size. One sets a limit on your monthly repayments. One applies only to HDB flats and new executive condominiums. Check which rule applies to you before you start house-hunting.
The loan limit: 75%
A bank will lend you 75% of the property's price — or 75% of its own valuation, if the valuation is lower than the property's price. On a first private home loan, at least 5% of the price must be paid in cash. The remaining 20% can be paid using cash or CPF. On a $2.4 million condo, that's $600,000 down — $120,000 of it in cash.
The debt limit: 55%
All your monthly debt added together — the new home loan, car loans, study loans, personal loans, and the minimum due on your credit cards — cannot be more than 55% of your gross monthly income. The bank calculates the home loan repayment at 4% interest, or your actual quoted rate, whichever is higher. You can use the income lookup tables in our TDSR guide to check your own borrowing limit.
The HDB flats and new ECs limit: 30%
There is a third, stricter limit that applies only to HDB flats and new Executive Condominiums. Under this limit, your home loan repayment cannot be more than 30% of your gross income. Most families buying an HDB flat or new EC will hit this 30% limit before they hit the 55% TDSR limit.
Which of these limits applies to you? If you have a high income but limited savings, expect to hit the 75% loan limit first. If you have existing debt or earn a commission-based income, watch out for the 55% TDSR limit instead.
| Rule | What it limits | How much | Applies to | Who it usually stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loan-to-Value (LTV) | The size of the loan | 75% of price or valuation, whichever is lower | All first housing loans | Buyers with strong income but lesser savings |
| Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) | All monthly debt payments added together | 55% of your income before tax, tested at the higher of 4% or the actual interest rate | Housing loans generally | Buyers with existing debt or commission-based income |
| Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) | Only the housing instalment | 30% of gross income | HDB flats and new executive condominiums only | Most buyers of an HDB flat or new EC |
How much stamp duty do you pay?
On a $2.4 million condo, Buyer's Stamp Duty is around $89,600. Stamp duty can be paid using cash or CPF and is due within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase (or signing the Sale & Purchase Agreement).
Every buyer pays Buyer's Stamp Duty, regardless of residency or how many properties they own. The rate you pay depends on the property's price: it rises in steps, from 1% to 6%. For most private homes, that's about 3% to 4% of the price. See the full rate breakdown on the IRAS website.
You may also need to pay Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty — a separate tax on top of Buyer's Stamp Duty. The rate depends on your residency status and how many homes you already own. For upgraders, the buy/sell order makes a difference: a Singapore citizen who sells first and does not own any home on the day of purchase does not pay any ABSD. A citizen who buys first pays ABSD upfront.
If you sell within four years of buying, you pay Seller's Stamp Duty — up to 16% of the sale price in the first year, falling to 4% in the fourth year. Owners who sell after the four-year mark do not pay Seller's Stamp Duty.
SORA or the bank's own board rate: what's the difference?
You can choose between two types of home loan package. One uses a published benchmark; the other uses a rate set by the bank. One is more transparent, while the other is more stable and changes less often.
A SORA home loan package is based on a publicly available official rate published by MAS. SORA is the average rate banks charge each other for overnight loans. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) publishes this rate daily. Your home loan package rate will use these two numbers added together: the SORA average from the past one or three months, with a margin the bank adds on top. If you choose a 1-month SORA package, your monthly loan repayment will change about a month after SORA moves; on a 3-month package, your monthly loan repayment will change about three months after. Since SORA is published daily, you can easily check its current rate and the date it last changed.
A board rate package is based on a rate the bank sets internally. The bank doesn't publicly disclose the rate or how it calculates it. Unlike SORA, board rates are updated only when the bank chooses to, so board rates change less often and your monthly repayment stays steady for longer periods. The trade-off: the bank has full control over when your rate changes, and there's no published number to check against.
We compared 16 home loan packages from 7 banks in July 2026. First-year rates on the 16 packages ranged from 1.35% to 2.38%. Among the 16 packages, board rate packages had the lowest rates in year one, and many packages reprice after that. Check the full list of packages, sorted from cheapest to most expensive, on the mortgage rates page.
Why is a new launch loan different?
You do not borrow the whole amount on day one. On a home still being built, the bank pays the developer in stages as construction reaches each milestone: foundation, frame, walls, ceilings, windows, car park, keys, then final legal completion. You only pay interest on the money released so far. So the instalment starts at a few hundred dollars a month and only reaches full size three to four years in.
That changes which package features are worth paying for. A free conversion when you collect keys lets you switch to a cheaper package at exactly the moment the loan gets big. A waiver of the cancellation fee on the part not yet released protects you if you sell before the building is finished. The stage-by-stage cash flow, with a worked $2.4 million example, is in our new launch payment guide.
The short version
What to take away
- A first home loan is capped at 75% of price or valuation, whichever is lower.
- You need 25% down, and at least 5% of the price in cash for a private home.
- All your monthly debt together cannot be more than 55% of gross income.
- The bank uses 4% interest to test that 55%, not the lower rate you're quoted.
- HDB flats and new ECs face a tighter 30% cap on the housing instalment alone.
- Stamp duty sits on top of the price — about $89,600 on a $2.4 million condo.
- Selling before you buy is what avoids Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty.
- On a new launch, the instalment starts small and grows over three to four years.
So what should you do with this?
Three things, in order. First, work out your own 55% number: take your gross monthly income, multiply by 0.55, then subtract every existing monthly debt payment. What is left is what the bank will let you spend on a home loan, tested at 4%. Second, check you have the cash: 5% of the price, plus the stamp duty, both in actual cash rather than CPF. Third, if you are upgrading, decide the order of your sale and purchase before anything else, because that single choice can move your tax bill by six figures.
The one number to hold onto
If you keep one figure from this page, keep 4%. It is the rate the bank tests you at, however cheap your actual package looks. It is also a fair test to run on yourself. If your budget only works at 1.4%, you do not really have a budget. You have a bet on rates staying low.
Common questions
How much can I borrow to buy a home in Singapore?
On a first housing loan a bank can lend at most 75% of the price or the valuation, whichever is lower. Your repayments are capped separately: all your monthly debt together cannot be more than 55% of your gross income, and the bank calculates the home loan repayment at 4% interest, or your actual rate if that's higher. Whichever cap is lower is the one that decides your budget.
How much cash do I need upfront for a Singapore condo?
At least 5% of the price must be cash on a private home, with a further 20% from cash or your CPF Ordinary Account. On a $2.4 million condo that is $120,000 in cash and $480,000 more in cash or CPF. Buyer's Stamp Duty of roughly $89,600 is on top of that, payable within 14 days.
Why is my loan tested at a higher interest rate than I'm actually paying?
MAS requires banks to test your loan at the higher of 4% or the actual interest rate. This stress rate exists so a household isn't approved for a loan it can only afford while rates are unusually low. It doesn't change what you pay each month — only the size of the loan you're approved for.
What is SORA and how does it affect my home loan?
SORA is the Singapore Overnight Rate Average, published daily by MAS. It is the average rate banks charge each other for overnight loans. On a SORA package, your rate is two numbers added together: the SORA average over the past one or three months, plus a margin the bank adds on top. When SORA moves, your monthly loan repayment changes a month later on a 1-month package, or three months later on a 3-month package.
Do I pay Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty if I sell my flat first?
A Singapore citizen who owns no other home on the day of purchase pays no Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. That is why selling before you buy avoids it. Buying first means paying the second-property rate upfront and claiming it back later, which is only possible if you sell within the allowed window and meet the conditions.
Why is the monthly payment on a new launch so small at the start?
The bank does not release the whole loan on day one. It pays the developer in stages as construction reaches each milestone, so you only pay interest on what has been released. The instalment starts at a few hundred dollars and reaches full size around three to four years in, at legal completion.
Should I pick a SORA package or a board rate package?
A SORA package moves with a published benchmark, so you can always see why your rate changed. A board rate package moves when the bank decides, which can be steadier but is less transparent. In our 6 July 2026 compilation, board rate packages were the cheapest in the first year, at 1.35% a year. Compare the whole lock-in period, not just year one.
Page history
- — Rewritten in plain English for readers who are not property professionals. Added a glossary of the five terms used on the page, worked cash figures on a $2.4 million example, a short-version summary with next actions, and a questions section. Headings are now the questions readers actually ask.
- — Section published, with the mortgage rates tracker and TDSR guide linked as its first two pages.
Next update when MAS changes a borrowing rule, IRAS changes a stamp duty tier, or the rates compilation is refreshed.
Disclaimer. Content in this section is educational and indicative, not financial advice or a recommendation of any lender, package or course of action. Rules, rates and duty tiers change; verify against MAS, IRAS, CPF Board and your bank, and seek advice from licensed professionals for your own situation.
Talk it through with an advisor
Our research tells you what the data says. If you want to work through what it means for your own situation — budget, ABSD position, timing an HDB sale, or comparing launches against resale options — you can request a one-to-one consultation.
- No obligation. The first conversation is about your goals.
- Affordability and stamp duty worked out on your actual numbers.
- Launch and tender alerts for the projects you shortlist.
Disclosure: advisory consultations are provided by Jamus Lee (CEA Reg. No. R065771E, ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd, Licence No. L3002382K), the publisher of PropertyInsider.sg, via JamusProperty.com. This is a separate service from our editorial research and has no influence over what we publish. See our editorial policy. Submitting this form shares your details with the advisory practice; see our privacy policy.