Cost of Buying and Owning a First Property in Singapore (2026)
The purchase price is only the starting point. Your first-property budget in Singapore also has to account for downpayment rules, stamp duties, HDB portal fees, legal work, insurance, and recurring ownership costs such as mortgage instalments and property tax.
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Median 4-Room HDB
$630,000
Verified 2025 resale benchmark used for the first-home HDB example.
Median Condo
$1,892,000
Verified 2025 private non-landed benchmark used for the condo examples.
BSD On Median Condo
$64,200
Mandatory even for a first-time Singapore-citizen buyer.
SPR ABSD On Same Condo
$94,600
The main reason first-home upfront costs diverge sharply by buyer profile.
Scope
What this guide includes and excludes
This guide focuses on the main costs that most buyers will need to budget for.
- • Included: the main upfront and recurring costs that most buyers will run into.
- • Illustrated: a first-time Singapore-citizen 4-room resale HDB purchase, a first-time Singapore-citizen condo purchase, and a first-time Singapore-permanent-resident condo purchase.
- • Not included in headline totals: renovation, furniture, moving, utilities, condo management fees, bank-law-firm packages, and negotiated agent commissions because these vary materially from case to case.
Practical takeaway
The biggest mistake is treating the purchase price as the budget. For first-time buyers, stamp duties and downpayment rules change the real bill more than almost anything else.
Purchase Price
The purchase price still does most of the damage
These 2025 price benchmarks are not the whole cost of ownership, but they shape the size of your downpayment, loan, and stamp duties.
A first-home buyer does not need to buy a condo or landed house, but those benchmarks still matter. Stamp duties are computed on purchase price, and the jump from a median HDB resale flat to a median condo is large enough to change the affordability conversation entirely.
| Housing type | Average price | Median price | Average PSF | Average size (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDB | $652,482 | $628,000 | $646 | 1,021.46 |
| Condo | $2,147,220 | $1,892,000 | $2,149 | 1,017.94 |
| Landed | $5,929,363 | $4,650,000 | $1,930 | 3,265.69 |
Upfront Costs
What you have to budget before you get the keys
Some costs are tiny but unavoidable, such as HDB application fees. Others, such as stamp duty and downpayment, are large enough to determine whether the deal is feasible at all.
BTO or Sale of Balance application fee
S$10
Payable for each flat application submitted.
New-flat option fee: 2-room Flexi
S$500
Payable when you book the flat.
New-flat option fee: 3-room
S$1,000
Payable when you book the flat.
New-flat option fee: 4-room and bigger
S$2,000
Payable when you book the flat.
Resale application fee: 1- and 2-room
S$40
Administrative fee payable by buyer and by seller.
Resale application fee: 3-room and bigger
S$80
Administrative fee payable by buyer and by seller.
Request for Value
S$120
Required if you intend to use CPF savings or a housing loan for an HDB resale purchase.
HDB-appointed conveyancing fee for resale, transfer or assignment of flat by owner
First S$30,000: S$0.135 per S$100; next S$30,000: S$0.108 per S$100; remaining amount: S$0.09 per S$100
Rounded up to the next dollar before GST. Minimum legal fee chargeable is S$20.
HDB-appointed conveyancing fee for sale of flat by HDB together with HDB mortgage
First S$30,000: S$0.09 per S$100; next S$30,000: S$0.072 per S$100; remaining amount: S$0.06 per S$100
Rounded up to the next dollar before GST. Minimum legal fee chargeable is S$20.
Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD)
| First S$180,000 | 1% |
| Next S$180,000 | 2% |
| Next S$640,000 | 3% |
| Next S$500,000 | 4% |
| Next S$1,500,000 | 5% |
| Remaining amount | 6% |
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD)
| Singapore Citizen buying first residential property | 0% |
| Singapore Citizen buying second residential property | 20% |
| Singapore Citizen buying third and subsequent residential property | 30% |
| Singapore Permanent Resident buying first residential property | 5% |
| Singapore Permanent Resident buying second residential property | 30% |
| Singapore Permanent Resident buying third and subsequent residential property | 35% |
| Foreigner buying any residential property | 60% |
| Entity buying any residential property | 65% |
Downpayment rules to watch
- • CPF Board’s current home-ownership guide states that bank loans allow borrowing of up to 75% of the purchase price, with a minimum 25% downpayment and at least 5% of the price paid in cash.
- • The same CPF guide states that HDB housing loans allow borrowing of up to 75% of the purchase price, with a minimum 20% downpayment that can be fully paid using CPF Ordinary Account savings.
- • The guide also notes that HDB borrowers must first use Ordinary Account savings above S$20,000 before taking the HDB loan.
Worked Examples
Three first-home scenarios
The chart below focuses on the main upfront costs: downpayment, BSD, ABSD where relevant, and small standard HDB portal fees.
First-home SC 4-room HDB resale
4-room HDB resale flat at the 2025 median price
Purchase price
$630,000
Core upfront bill
$139,700
Max loan used
$504,000
Illustrative monthly mortgage
$2,286
- Loan type
- HDB housing loan up to 75%
- Downpayment
- $126,000
- Minimum cash needed
- $0
- Stamp duties
- BSD $13,500
- Property tax illustration
- $161 before rebate, $137 after rebate.
Illustrated using IRAS’ example of a 4-room owner-occupied HDB flat with annual value of S$16,020.
- • Core upfront total includes only the 20% downpayment, BSD, resale application fee and Request for Value.
- • It excludes HDB conveyancing, renovation, moving, negotiated agent commission and furnishings.
- • The monthly mortgage is illustrative, based on a 25-year loan tenure and the prevailing HDB concessionary rate of 2.6% from 1 January to 31 March 2026.
First-home SC condo
Private condo at the 2025 median price
Purchase price
$1,892,000
Core upfront bill
$537,200
Max loan used
$1,419,000
Illustrative monthly mortgage
$7,490
- Loan type
- Bank loan up to 75%
- Downpayment
- $473,000
- Minimum cash needed
- $94,600
- Stamp duties
- BSD $64,200
- Property tax illustration
- $864 before rebate, $778 after rebate.
Illustrated using the 2024 median annual value of S$33,600 for non-landed private residential properties in the official data.gov.sg dataset.
- • Core upfront total includes only the 25% downpayment and BSD.
- • At least 5% of the purchase price has to be paid in cash for a bank loan.
- • It excludes bank valuation fees, bank-law-firm conveyancing packages, condo maintenance fees, renovation and furnishings.
First-home SPR condo
Private condo at the 2025 median price
Purchase price
$1,892,000
Core upfront bill
$631,800
Max loan used
$1,419,000
Illustrative monthly mortgage
$7,490
- Loan type
- Bank loan up to 75%
- Downpayment
- $473,000
- Minimum cash needed
- $94,600
- Stamp duties
- BSD $64,200 + ABSD $94,600
- Property tax illustration
- $864 before rebate, $778 after rebate.
Illustrated using the same non-landed median annual value benchmark of S$33,600.
- • The monthly mortgage is unchanged versus the Singapore-citizen condo example if the same price, tenure and loan rate are assumed.
- • The big difference is ABSD: at 5%, it adds S$94,600 to the upfront bill on this median-price condo.
Recurring Costs
Owning the home is the second bill
Mortgage instalments dominate recurring ownership costs, but they are not the only item. Property tax and compulsory HDB-linked insurance can matter more than buyers expect, especially once purchase price rises.
Owner-occupied property-tax rates
| Annual value band | Rate | Running reference point |
|---|---|---|
| First S$12,000 | 0% | S$0 |
| Next S$28,000 | 4% | S$1,120 at S$40,000 AV |
| Next S$10,000 | 6% | S$1,720 at S$50,000 AV |
| Next S$25,000 | 10% | S$4,220 at S$75,000 AV |
| Next S$10,000 | 14% | S$5,620 at S$85,000 AV |
| Next S$15,000 | 20% | S$8,620 at S$100,000 AV |
| Next S$40,000 | 26% | S$19,020 at S$140,000 AV |
| Remaining amount | 32% | Above S$140,000 AV |
Recurring cost notes
- • If you use CPF savings to service your HDB housing loan, Home Protection Scheme cover is compulsory. Premiums vary by age, loan amount, tenure, health and share of cover.
- • CPF Board’s March 2024 explainer says HPS and HDB Fire Insurance are the compulsory insurance layers for most HDB flat owners. HDB Fire Insurance protects internal structures and HDB-built fixtures.
- • The same CPF explainer notes that HDB Fire Insurance premiums are low, but they are not a substitute for a broader home contents or renovation policy.
- • CEA’s consumer guidance and recent CEA consumer research emphasise that commission is negotiable. Because agent commissions are not fixed and differ by transaction, they are excluded from the worked examples.
What is excluded from the totals
- • Renovation, furniture and appliances
- • Moving costs and temporary accommodation
- • Electricity, water, gas and internet bills
- • Condo management fees and sinking-fund contributions
- • Private home insurance beyond compulsory HPS / HDB Fire Insurance requirements
- • Bank valuation and conveyancing packages that vary by lender and law firm
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Sources
This guide uses home-price benchmarks together with official government sources on fees, taxes, and housing rules.
The examples in this guide use 2025 home-price benchmarks together with the current government fees and tax rules.
- • The purchase-price examples use 2025 home-price benchmarks.
- • Fee and tax rules are based on official HDB, CPF Board, IRAS and data.gov.sg sources.
- • Worked-example mortgage instalments are illustrative only. They assume a 25-year loan tenure and use 2.6% for the HDB loan example and 4.0% for the bank-loan examples.
- • Recurring-cost illustrations exclude utilities, renovation, agent commissions, moving costs and condo maintenance because these are not fixed by law and vary materially across households and properties.
- • Property-tax illustrations use the owner-occupied residential tax schedule effective from January 1, 2025 and then apply the announced 2026 owner-occupied rebate where relevant.
Official sources
- • Average house price guide used for the purchase-price examples
- • HDB general conditions for purchase PDF
- • HDB resale application fee and Request for Value service page
- • CPF Board: Upgrading your home
- • CPF Board: Home Purchase Planner
- • CPF Board: HDB option fee and housing expenses you should know
- • CPF Board: CPF interest rates from 1 January to 31 March 2026 and Basic Healthcare Sum for 2026
- • CPF Board: Protect your home: insurance for your HDB flat
- • CPF Board: Apply for or adjust Home Protection Scheme cover
- • CPF Board: Home Protection Scheme premium calculator
- • IRAS: Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD)
- • IRAS: Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD)
- • IRAS: Property Tax Rates and Sample Calculations
- • IRAS: 2026 one-off owner-occupied property tax rebate
- • IRAS: 2026 example of property tax on a 4-room HDB flat
- • data.gov.sg API: annual value and property tax by type of private residential properties
- • CEA consumer guidance and consumer research on negotiable commission