Plan Your Finances

Plan your finances and work out your budget before you search for a suitable home.

To work out a financial plan, consider the following:

  • Payments that you need to make by using cash and CPF savings
  • The amount of housing loan
  • CPF housing grant

You may use our calculators to estimate your finances and the amount of housing loan you may need for your flat purchase. Read financial planning for flat purchase for more tips on financing a flat purchase.

Cash and CPF savings

There are payments that you need to make at various stages of the flat purchase. Your financial planning should therefore cover the amount of cash required and the amount that can be paid using CPF savings.

Cash

You must pay in cash at the following stages:

Application A non-refundable administrative fee of $10 is payable when you apply for a flat online at our HDB Flat Portal.
Booking of flat

You have to pay an option fee when you book a flat. The amount payable is based on the flat type booked.
Sign Agreement for Lease

You must pay part of the downpayment in cash if you are taking a housing loan from a financial institution (FI) or have insufficient CPF savings.
Key collection

Amount not covered by CPF savings and eligible housing loan amount

You must pay the balance purchase price of the flat during the key collection appointment, after factoring in:

  • Downpayment
  • Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (if any)
  • CPF Ordinary Account savings
  • Eligible housing loan amount

Cash proceeds from disposal of the last flat if you are taking a second HDB housing loan

If you are taking a second HDB housing loan, you need to use part of the cash proceeds from the disposal of an existing or previous flat to pay for your flat purchase, to reduce the loan amount required, for financial prudence.

Resale levy

Second-timer applicants are required to pay a resale levy for the purchase of a second subsidised flat, before they can collect the keys to the flat.
Others

E.g.:

Other expenses such as furnishings, renovation

CPF savings

The savings in your CPF Ordinary Account (OA) can be used for:

Sign Agreement for Lease

You may use your CPF savings to pay for the downpayment.

If you are taking a housing loan from a financial institution (FI), at least 5% of the downpayment need to be in cash.
Key collection You may use your CPF savings to pay for the balance purchase price.
Monthly Payments of Mortgage Instalments The monthly payments will start after the resale completion.

Flat buyers taking a housing loan from HDB have the option of retaining up to $20,000 of the available CPF savings in each buyer's OA. The remaining balance in the CPF OA must be used to pay for the flat purchase before they can take an HDB housing loan. If you need the CPF refund from the sale of your current property to finance the flat purchase during the key collection appointment, please ensure the amount has already been credited to your CPF OA, before you attend the appointment.

You should also take note of the following conditions for using your CPF savings:

  • There is a limit on the total amount of CPF savings that can be used for your flat purchase. Once that limit is reached, you will not be able to withdraw more of your CPF savings and must pay the balance flat purchase price and/ or monthly mortgage instalments in cash
  • The total amount of CPF savings that can be used for your flat purchase and/ or paying monthly mortgage instalments will depend on the extent the remaining lease of the flat can cover the youngest buyer up to the age of 95. Details on the use of CPF savings and the applicable limits are shown in the table below:
    Remaining lease of flat is at least 20 years and can cover the youngest buyer up to the age of 95 Applicable limits for CPF usage
    Yes The amount is capped at the lower of the value of flat or price of the flat at the time of purchase.
    No The amount is pro-rated based on the extent the remaining lease of the flat can cover the youngest buyer up to the age of 95. When the allowed CPF amount is used up, buyers will have to pay the balance flat purchase price and/ or monthly mortgage instalments in cash. This will help buyers set aside CPF savings for their housing needs during retirement (e.g. buying a replacement property).

For more information on the use of CPF savings, you may use the CPF Board's online calculator. For further enquiries on the use of CPF savings, please visit CPF Board’s website.

Housing loan

To finance your flat purchase, you may choose to get a housing loan from HDB or a financial institution (FI) regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

As the purchase of a flat is a long-term commitment and payment of the monthly instalments can stretch up to 25 years or more, it is important to exercise prudence and ensure that the monthly payment is what you can sustain in paying.

Housing loan from HDB

If you wish to take a housing loan from HDB, you need to first obtain an HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter. The HLE letter will inform you of the loan amount you can receive, based on your financial situation. Knowing the available housing loan amount will help you to estimate your budget.

You may indicate your interest when you apply for a flat via the HDB Flat Portal. We will advise eligible applicants who may have a chance to book a flat to apply for an HLE letter.

You should take note of the following:

Valid HLE letter

You need a valid HLE letter at all the following stages:

Second HDB housing loan

If you are taking a second HDB housing loan, the eligible loan amount will be reduced using the CPF refund and part of the cash proceeds from the disposal of your current or last owned flat.

Retaining up to $20,000 CPF savings in Ordinary Account (OA)

Those taking an HDB housing loan have the option of retaining up to $20,000 CPF savings in each buyer's Ordinary Account (OA). The rest of the available CPF OA balance must be used to pay for the flat purchase.

Those taking a housing loan from FIs may check with the FIs for their conditions.

Remaining lease of flat

Flat buyers may apply for an HDB housing loan up to the prevailing Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit of 80%^, if the remaining lease of the flat can cover the youngest buyer to the age of 95 and above.

^ For flat applications submitted on or after 30 Sep 2022.

If the remaining lease is unable to do so, the LTV limit will be pro-rated from 80%. You can click on the following link to use the online calculator to compute the allowable CPF usage and HDB housing loan:

Flat buyers who have booked a flat with HDB or submitted a resale application will be provided with a customised financial plan, which will include the applicable LTV limit at point of flat application (if they are taking an HDB housing loan), and the payments required at the various milestones of their flat purchase.
Refinancing to housing loan from Financial Institution (FI)

When you take a housing loan from HDB, you can later refinance the loan with a housing loan from a FI.

If you do not meet the eligibility conditions to apply for a housing loan from HDB, you will need to obtain a housing loan from a financial institution (FI) if a housing loan is required.

Housing loan from Financial Institutions

You may choose to finance your flat purchase with a housing loan from the FIs regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). View and compare the housing loan packages offered by participating FIs.

Check the key terms and considerations in taking up a housing loan from the FIs before making a decision. You may use our calculator to obtain housing loan estimates from the FIs.

Apply early for an In-Principle Approval (IPA) from an FI for a preliminary assessment of your housing loan eligibility before you start searching for a flat, as knowing the available housing loan amount will help you estimate your flat budget. You should also take note of the following:

Valid Letter of Offer (LO) You must have a valid LO before exercising the Option To Purchase or signing the Agreement for Lease.
Refinancing to housing loan from Financial Institution (FI)

When you take a housing loan from the FI, you cannot refinance the loan with a housing loan from HDB. You may refinance the FI loan with a housing loan from another FI.

CPF housing grant

You may be eligible to receive an Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) to help with the flat purchase.

Read our eligibility conditions to find out if you are eligible for an EHG. The housing grant can be used for the downpayment and to reduce the required housing loan amount.