How to buy a house in Singapore comes down to the same order of steps for every buyer: confirm you are eligible, fix a budget from cash, CPF and the loan you qualify for, secure the property with an option or booking, pay stamp duty, then complete the purchase. HDB flats add an eligibility letter at the start. Private homes add Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for most buyers who already own property.
Below are the steps for a resale HDB flat, a new BTO flat and a private home, with the official deadlines and a resale flat costed in full. Figures are as at November 2026.
A caution on borrowing: the loan you are approved for is a ceiling, not a target. A smaller loan leaves room for rate rises, a job change or a family.
Step 1: Check Eligibility Before You Look
For an HDB flat, apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter on the HDB Flat Portal. You start with a preliminary check, then submit the full application within 30 calendar days. Approval typically takes about a month, and the letter is valid for nine months. It tells you which flats, grants and loans you qualify for.
An HDB loan needs at least one Singapore Citizen applicant, a household income of no more than $16,000 a month ($8,000 for singles), and no private property owned or sold in the previous 30 months, according to HDB’s loan guide.
For a private home, there is no eligibility letter. Ask a bank for an in-principle approval (IPA), which tells you roughly how much it will lend. DBS, for example, states its IPA is valid for 30 days.
Step 2: Set a Budget From Three Sources
Every purchase is paid from cash, CPF Ordinary Account savings and a loan.
- Loan limit: up to 75% of the price or valuation for a first housing loan, subject to tenure and age under MAS rules.
- Income limit: monthly debt repayments within 55% of gross income (TDSR), and housing loan repayments within 30% (MSR) for HDB flats and new ECs.
- Cash: with a bank loan, at least 5% of the price must be cash. With an HDB loan, the downpayment can come wholly from CPF.
Our home affordability calculator puts these together. For CPF limits, see how much CPF you can use for housing. First-timers can also check CPF housing grants.
Step 3: Secure the Home
Resale HDB flat
HDB’s resale guide sets the sequence:
- Get the Option to Purchase (OTP) from the seller and pay an option fee of $1 to $1,000.
- Within the 21-calendar-day option period, confirm your financing and submit a Request for Value if you are using CPF or a loan.
- Exercise the OTP by paying the option exercise fee. The two fees together cannot exceed $5,000.
- Both sides submit the resale application. HDB responds within 28 working days of a complete application, and completion is usually about 8 weeks after acceptance.
If the valuation is below the price, the difference must be paid in cash.
New BTO flat
Apply during a sales launch with a $10 fee. HDB releases ballot results within two months; booking starts about four weeks later. At booking, pay an option fee of $2,000 (4-room and larger), $1,000 (3-room) or $500 (2-room Flexi). Within nine months you sign the Agreement for Lease and pay a downpayment of 10% with an HDB loan, or 20% with a bank loan, with 5% to 10% of it in cash. See HDB’s BTO guide.
Private home
For a resale private home, the option fee, exercise period and amount are agreed with the seller; your lawyer advises on the terms. For a new launch, the Housing Developers Rules set the standard payment schedule: a booking fee for the option, the rest of the first 20% within 8 weeks of the option date, then progressive payments as construction proceeds. Our progressive payment calculator lays out the stages.
Step 4: Pay Stamp Duty
Buyer’s Stamp Duty on residential property is charged in bands: 1% on the first $180,000, 2% on the next $180,000, 3% on the next $640,000, 4% on the next $500,000, 5% on the next $1.5 million and 6% above $3 million.
ABSD is a flat percentage of the whole price:
| Buyer | First home | Second home | Third and later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| Entity | 65% | 65% | 65% |
Rates for purchases on or after 27 April 2023, as published by IRAS. Married couples with at least one citizen spouse buying their first home jointly pay none. Stamp duty on private purchases is due within 14 days of signing; for HDB resale, HDB asks for it after you endorse the resale documents. Our stamp duty calculator does the sums.
Step 5: Arrange the Loan and CPF
Choose between an HDB loan and a bank loan before you exercise the OTP or sign the Agreement for Lease. With a bank loan, you need a valid Letter of Offer by then. Our guide to the best home loans compares packages, and HDB loan vs bank loan covers the CPF trade-off.
CPF users are covered by the Home Protection Scheme unless exempted; see DPS and HPS. HDB loan borrowers must also buy HDB fire insurance.
How to Buy a House in Singapore: A $550,000 Resale Flat Costed
An illustrative couple, both Singapore Citizens and first-time buyers, buy a resale flat for $550,000 at valuation, with an HDB loan. Our own figures.
- Option and exercise fees: up to $5,000 in cash, counted towards the price
- Buyer’s Stamp Duty: $1,800 + $3,600 + $5,700 = $11,100; ABSD nil
- Downpayment (25%): $137,500, from CPF, cash or both
- HDB loan (75%): $412,500 over 25 years at 2.6%
- Monthly instalment: about $1,871
- Total interest over 25 years: about $148,900, if the rate stays at 2.6%
Their total outlay over the loan is about $710,000 before legal fees, insurance and renovation. The instalment needs a gross household income of at least $6,240 a month under HDB’s 30% limit, before HDB’s own stress test. Illustration only.
The short version: Get the HFE letter or bank IPA first, budget from cash, CPF and loan, keep within the 21-day option period for resale flats, and set aside cash for stamp duty and any valuation gap before you commit.
What To Do Next
- Apply for your HFE letter early, or ask a bank for an IPA if buying private.
- Map your dates with our HDB resale timeline planner.
- Price the purchase in full, including stamp duty and fees, with the purchase cost summary.
- Check the instalment at several rates in our mortgage repayment calculator.
