Property Downpayment in Singapore: Your Questions Answered
These are the questions people ask most often about property downpayment. Each answer is short; follow the links for the full detail.
What does a property downpayment calculation tell me?
Splits the downpayment into cash and CPF and shows the remaining loan.
What is the formula?
Loan = price × (1 − cash % − CPF %).
What do I need to enter?
Property price (S$), Cash downpayment (%), CPF downpayment (%).
Should I rely on this before signing?
Use it to plan, then confirm the figures with your banker, lawyer or the IRAS stamp duty calculator before you exercise an option to purchase.
Can you show an example?
For example, with these inputs:
- Property price (S$): 900,000
- Cash downpayment (%): 5
- CPF downpayment (%): 20
the calculator returns:
- Cash portion: S$45,000.00
- CPF portion: S$180,000.00
- Loan amount: S$675,000.00
Any tips?
- A second housing loan drops the LTV limit sharply and raises the minimum cash downpayment to 25%.
- Using CPF for housing reduces what is left for retirement, and you must refund the amount used plus accrued interest when you sell.
- Stamp duty is based on the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher.
Background
CPF Ordinary Account savings can pay for the downpayment, stamp duties and monthly instalments, but using CPF reduces the money compounding for retirement, and the amount withdrawn plus accrued interest must be refunded to your CPF account when you sell.
Most Singaporeans live in HDB flats, which can be financed with an HDB concessionary loan at 0.1% above the CPF Ordinary Account rate or with a bank loan. Private property must be financed with a bank loan, and banks offer fixed, floating and SORA-pegged packages.
The Total Debt Servicing Ratio limits monthly debt repayments to 55% of gross monthly income for any property loan, and the Mortgage Servicing Ratio limits the housing instalment to 30% of income for HDB flats and new executive condominiums. Banks apply a medium-term interest rate in these tests rather than the rate you will actually pay.
Related calculations
- Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) Calculator: Calculates ABSD by buyer profile and the number of residential properties owned, using the rates in force since 27 April 2023.
- Total Property Stamp Duty Calculator: Adds BSD and ABSD together so you know the full stamp duty bill before you sign an option to purchase.
- Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) Calculator: Calculates SSD for residential property bought on or after 4 July 2025 and sold within four years.
- HDB Loan Calculator: Calculates monthly repayments on an HDB concessionary loan, which is pegged at 0.1% above the CPF Ordinary Account rate (2.6% a year).
Try it yourself with the Property Downpayment Calculator.
Run your own numbers: Property Downpayment Calculator