Which guide should you read first?
Pick by the question you are stuck on, not by the order below. Each guide stands alone, and each one names the tool that runs its numbers on your own figures.
| If you are asking | Read | The headline number |
|---|---|---|
| What do we pay, and when? | Buying a new launch condo | $572,600 due in the first eight weeks on a $2.4M unit |
| New launch or resale? | New launch vs resale | Four years costs $102,000 less, or $53,000 more, depending how you count |
| Should we sell the flat first? | Selling your HDB to buy a new launch | A $550,000 sale funds a budget near $1.8M |
| Can we avoid the second-property tax? | Decoupling | $21,600 of cost against $320,000 of tax avoided |
| How much can we borrow? | TDSR guide | $8,000 a month supports about $922,000 of loan |
| Can we take cash out of our home? | Equity term loans | $1.3M of equity yields $805,000 of usable credit |
| Our income falls just short. Now what? | Pledging and unpledging | $48,000 pledged counts the same as $160,000 shown |
Process
One purchase, in the order it actually happens. This is the only guide here that is a sequence.
Strategy and decisions
Questions with more than one defensible answer. Each guide prices both sides rather than picking for you.
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Decision Guide
New launch vs resale: which should you buy?
A flowchart to route you, then four years of each priced at a $2.5M budget. The winner flips depending on how you count.
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Upgrader Guide
Selling your HDB to buy a new launch
The five HDB sale deadlines. Where a $550,000 sale actually goes. And how the proceeds turn into a budget near $1.8M.
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Ownership Guide
Decoupling: paying five figures to save six
Both sides of a worked $1.4M case. $21,600 of cost against $320,000 of tax avoided. Plus the CPF refund most sellers misread.
Financing mechanics
The rules themselves: how each limit is computed, what moves it, and where the published figure comes from.
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Finance Guide
TDSR: how much can you actually borrow?
The 55% cap and the 4% test rate, in plain English. Lookup tables from $4k to $20k of income. Plus what a car loan really costs you.
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Finance Guide
Equity term loans: how much you can cash out
Why $1.3M of equity becomes $805,000 of credit. The 50% band with no income test. And the one thing the money cannot buy.
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Finance Guide
Pledging & unpledging: passing TDSR with assets
$48,000 pledged counts the same as $160,000 shown. A 3.3 times gap. Here is the worked case, and the four-year catch.
Coming soon
In preparation. Each will land with its worked example and its calculator alongside.
- Coming Soon
Stamp duty in full: BSD, ABSD & SSD
Every tier and remission rule, worked through, with the calculator alongside.
- Coming Soon
Executive condominiums explained
Who can buy one, how the loan rules differ, and what happens after the five-year stay.
Work out what you can actually afford, step by step
Buying in Singapore is mostly a problem of order. Miss the 21-day option window, or forget the CPF refund on your HDB sale, and a plan that looked affordable stops working. These guides walk each step in order, with the sums written out.
Not sure where to start? If you are sizing a budget, begin with the TDSR guide. It turns your income into a maximum loan, before a showflat sets your expectations. Selling an HDB flat first? Go to the upgrade guide. Already picked a launch? The payment guide maps when every dollar leaves your account.
Every number here is one you can redo yourself. Each guide states its assumptions up front and shows the working, so you can swap in your own figures. These guides are educational. They are not advice about your own situation. Check anything that matters against HDB, the CPF Board, IRAS or MAS, and with a licensed professional.
Frequently asked questions
The questions readers actually send us about this section.
What is TDSR and how does it limit my loan in Singapore?
The Total Debt Servicing Ratio is a MAS rule. It caps all your monthly debt repayments at 55% of your income before tax and CPF. Banks also test home loans at a higher rate than the one you are offered. So your maximum loan is usually smaller than the advertised rate suggests. Our TDSR guide works the whole calculation through on a sample household.
Can I buy a condo before selling my HDB flat?
You can, but the order costs you. Buying first means paying Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on a second property. You get it back only if you sell the flat inside the allowed window and meet the conditions. Selling first avoids that payment, but leaves you needing somewhere to live. Our upgrade guide works both orders with the numbers attached. Eligibility questions go to HDB.gov.sg.
How much cash do I need upfront for a new launch condo?
The 5% booking fee must be cash. Within roughly eight weeks you reach 25% of the price, plus Buyer's Stamp Duty. You can use CPF for part of that. Every payment after follows the construction stages. On a $2.4 million unit, the first eight weeks come to about $572,600, and $120,000 of that must be cash. Our new launch payment guide maps the exact timing.
What is decoupling and why do people do it?
Decoupling is when one co-owner sells their share of a property to the other. The owner who steps out then counts as owning nothing. The usual purpose is to let that person buy the next home at first-property tax rates. It carries stamp duty, legal costs and refinancing consequences, and a lawyer must structure it. Our decoupling guide works a full example.
What deadlines matter most when buying a Singapore property?
Three break plans most often. The 21-day window to exercise an Option to Purchase. The 14-day clock to pay stamp duty. And the HDB resale portal's 7-day rule, where one side submits and the other must follow within a week. Most upgrade plans fail on order, not on affordability. That is why every guide here names its deadlines rather than gesturing at them.
Are these guides advice about my own purchase?
No. These guides are educational and general. They explain how the machinery works: stamp duties, loan limits, payment schedules. They cannot account for the facts of your own household. Check anything that matters against the sources each guide cites, which are HDB, the CPF Board, IRAS and MAS. Then take licensed professional advice before you commit.
How are the guides kept current when rules change?
Each guide carries a visible last-updated date and an update history. When duty tiers, TDSR settings or HDB procedures change, we revise the affected guide and log the change. We do not publish a new dated article and leave the old one to rot.
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.