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Residential

Housing Loan from Banks

You can choose to finance your flat with a housing loan from a bank that is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

If you take a housing loan from a bank, you will not be allowed to refinance your flat with a housing loan from HDB.

Must I take a housing loan from a bank?

You can if you choose to, or if any of these apply to you:

  • You and/ or the essential occupiers are not eligible for an HDB housing loan
  • You are buying a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat and your average gross monthly income is more than $12,000 (for families), or $18,000 (for extended families)
  • You are buying an Executive Condominium (EC)

 What is the repayment period?

The maximum repayment period for a housing loan from a bank is 30 years.

What is the loan ceiling?

For new flat purchases, the loan ceiling is based on the purchase price of the flat. For resale flats, it is based on the lower of the purchase or valuation price. Different loan ceilings will apply, depending on the date of booking or Option to Purchase.

From 28 August 2013

Currently, the loan ceiling amount you can obtain depends on your loan tenure.

Loan Tenure

Loan Ceiling

≤ 25 years

80%

> 25 years, or loan period extends beyond borrower’s age of 65

60%

 

From 12 January 2013

Loan Tenure

No Outstanding Loan

1 Outstanding Housing Loan

2 or More Outstanding Housing Loans

≤ 30 years

80%

50%

40%

> 30 years or loan period extends beyond borrower's age of 65

60%

30%

20%

You will not be subjected to the lower loan ceiling when you obtain another housing loan for the purchase of an HDB flat if you are able to provide the financial institution granting the loan a copy of the signed undertaking to HDB committing to complete the sale of your sole existing property within the period stipulated in the undertaking. Additional Measures to Ensure a Stable and Sustainable Property Market were announced on 11 January 2013.

 

Between 6 October 2012 and 11 January 2013

Repayment period of up to 30 years

Repayment Period + Buyer’s Age*

No Outstanding Loan

1 or More Outstanding Housing Loans

≤ 65

80%

60%

> 65

60%

40%

* The banks/ financial institutions may continue to set their own lending guidelines on whether to use the average age of all buyers of a flat or the youngest buyer to determine the loan tenure.

Repayment period between 31 to 35 years#

No Outstanding loan

1 or More Outstanding Housing Loans

60%

40%

# Regardless of buyers’ age
MAS's press release on 5 Oct 2012

 

Before 6 October 2012

  • No outstanding loan: The loan ceiling is 80%.
  • One or more outstanding housing loans: The loan ceiling is 60%.

When to apply

Apply early as you need to give us a bank’s Letter of Offer before you sign the Agreement for Lease (for new flats) or exercise the Option to Purchase (for resale flats).

Give yourself enough time to:

  • Evaluate the different housing loan options available
  • Apply for your chosen housing loan
  • Obtain and accept the Letter of Offer

Where to apply

Approach any bank to find out the loan amount you can get based on your current income.

For a list of all banks, please check the Monetary Authority of Singapore website, or this Financial Institutions Directory. When approaching the banks, we recommend that you request for a Customer Information Sheet for your reference.

CPF withdrawal limit

Your CPF Ordinary Account savings can be used to service your housing loan. However, under the CPF Board’s requirements, you may only withdraw monies for home payments up to the withdrawal limit. When the CPF withdrawal limit is reached, you may no longer use your CPF monies to pay for your flat.

You can find out the maximum amount of CPF savings you can withdraw using these tools:

CPF monies cannot be used to purchase a flat with a remaining lease of less than 30 years.

If you have further enquiries of CPF withdrawal limits, you may contact the CPF Board, or call their service line at 1800-227-1188.

To check a flat’s lease details, please use our Centralised Map service.

Cash payment

Your minimum cash payment* depends on your loan tenure, age, and whether you have other housing loans.

From 28 August 2013

Loan Tenure < 25 years > 25 years or Age+Tenure > 65 years
No outstanding residential property loans 5% 10%
  • The cash payment is computed based on purchase price or current market valuation of the flat, whichever is the lower.
  • Existing property owners are considered as having no outstanding residential property loans as they must dispose of their existing property within 6 months from their next HDB flat or EC purchase.
     

Between 12 Jan 2013 and 27 August 2013

Loan Tenure

< 30 Years

31 to 35 Years

Age + Tenure > 65 years

No outstanding residential property loans

10%

10%

With one or more outstanding residential property loans

6 Oct 2012 - 11 Jan 2013

10%

10%

From 12 Jan 2013

25%

25%

* The cash payment is computed based on purchase price or current market valuation of the flat, whichever is the lower.

Additional Measures to Ensure a Stable and Sustainable Property Market announced on 11 January 2013

 

Before 6 October 2012

If you do not have any other housing loan, the minimum cash payment is 5%. If you have one or more outstanding housing loans, the cash payment is 10%.

Other information

You might also like to refer to this information:

  • Articles about money and debt management when buying a flat

  • Conveyancing and other legal services we provide if you are buying a new HDB flat

  • Priority of payment if you sell an HDB flat financed by a bank loan

Articles produced by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS)

For further information to help you learn more about money and debt management, you may like to read these articles:

These articles were produced by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) in close collaboration with major retail banks, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), and MoneySENSE.

ABS promotes and represents the interest of the banking community in Singapore.

Legal services

We provide legal services such as conveyancing, to buyers of new HDB flats. If you are taking a housing loan from a bank, we can act for you in the purchase and/ or mortgage of the flat. However, if a personal guarantee is required by the bank to secure the housing loan, we will be unable to act for you in the mortgage.

If you wish to engage our legal services, please submit a signed Warrant to Act to us.

Alternatively, you can appoint a law firm to act for you. When you use a private solicitor, you will need to submit a letter from your solicitor to us.

Priority of payment

If you sell an HDB flat that is financed with a housing loan from a bank, the sales proceeds are applied in the following order:

  • First: To discharge the outstanding mortgage loan with the bank
  • Second: To refund the CPF savings withdrawn for the purchase of the property
  • Third: To pay the interest on the mortgage loan (from the date of default in payment) if applicable, and the interest on CPF money withdrawn

 

 

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