Buying
What actually happens when you buy
Seven stages, two hard deadlines, and three rules that decide the ceiling before you have viewed anything. None of it is complicated. All of it is expensive to get wrong in the wrong order.
The sequence
Timings are typical rather than guaranteed — a resale completion is driven by the lawyers, the bank and the CPF Board, none of whom are party to your timeline.
01
Week 0
Establish the ceiling before the search
Not a budget — a ceiling, computed from income, existing commitments, available CPF and cash. Three separate rules bind it, and the one that binds first is rarely the one people expect. This is the step that determines whether the rest of the process is a search or a disappointment.
02
Week 0–1
Get an in-principle approval in writing
The bank confirming what it will lend against your actual position. It is indicative and typically valid for around 30 days, so it is timed to when you are genuinely looking. Without one, an Option can be exercised on a loan that does not materialise.
03
Weeks 1–6
Shortlist, then view
Three to five properties, chosen against the constraints rather than against the photographs. Viewing thirty is not diligence, it is a substitute for having decided what matters — floor, facing, remaining lease, school band, commute, exit pool.
04
Day 0
Negotiate and take the Option to Purchase
On a resale the seller grants the Option for 1% of the price, giving you an exclusive window — usually 14 days — to decide. On a new launch you pay a booking fee to the developer and receive the Sale and Purchase Agreement, with three weeks to sign.
05
By day 14
Exercise the Option
A further 4% on a resale, and the contract becomes binding. Not exercising forfeits the 1%. This is the point of no return, and everything that should have been checked — valuation, loan, title, tenancy, CPF position — should have been checked before it.
06
Within 14 days of the document date
Pay the stamp duty
Buyer’s Stamp Duty, plus Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty where it applies. The clock runs from the DATE OF THE DOCUMENT, not from completion, and IRAS charges a penalty for late payment. CPF may be used, but the reimbursement arrives after you have already paid.
07
Typically week 8–12
Completion
The lawyers, the bank and the CPF Board move the money and the title. On a new launch this stage is replaced by the progressive payment schedule, drawing down against certified construction milestones until Temporary Occupation Permit.
The money you need that is not the deposit
A private purchase at 75% loan-to-value looks like a 25% deposit. It is not — the 25% splits into a cash portion and a CPF-eligible portion, and stamp duty sits on top of both with its own deadline.
| Item | When | Payable from |
|---|---|---|
| Option fee — 1% of price | On grant of the Option | Cash |
| Exercise fee — a further 4% | Within the option period | Cash |
| Balance of the 25% down payment | On completion | Cash or CPF Ordinary Account |
| Buyer’s Stamp Duty, and ABSD where it applies | Within 14 days of the document date | Cash first, CPF reimbursement after |
| Conveyancing and legal fees | On completion | Cash or CPF, roughly $2,500–$3,500 |
| Valuation shortfall, if the bank values below the price | On completion | Cash only — CPF cannot cover it |
The last row is the one that breaks deals. A bank lends against its own valuation, not against the price you agreed. If the valuation comes in $60,000 below, that $60,000 is cash-over-valuation and it must be found in cash — CPF will not cover the gap. It is the single most common reason a buyer who was comfortable on paper cannot complete.
The rules that set the ceiling
Read from the same registry the calculators use. Each carries the authority that issued it, the date it took effect where one is stated, and the date it was last checked — 2026-08-01.
IRAS
Buyer's Stamp Duty on residential property is tiered and marginal: 1% on the first S$180,000, 2% on the next S$180,000, 3% on the next S$640,000, 4% on the next S$500,000, 5% on the next S$1.5 million, and 6% above S$3 million.
Residential property. Non-residential follows the same schedule to S$1.5m then stays flat at 5% with no 6% band.
Where people go wrong: Applying one rate to the whole price. The bands are marginal — BSD on S$1.8m is S$59,600, an effective 3.31%, not 5%.
IRAS sourceIRAS
Singapore Citizens pay 0% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on a first residential property, 20% on a second, and 30% on a third or subsequent property.
Singapore Citizens acquiring residential property.
Where people go wrong: Forgetting ABSD is a flat percentage of the FULL price, not tiered. On a S$1.8m second property it is S$360,000 — roughly six times the BSD.
IRAS sourceMAS
A bank loan for a first housing loan is capped at 75% loan-to-value, with at least 5% of the purchase price paid in cash.
First outstanding housing loan. Second concurrent loan drops to 45% LTV, third or subsequent to 35%, each requiring 25% cash.
Where people go wrong: Treating 75% LTV as an entitlement. It is a ceiling — the actual quantum is the lower of the LTV cap and what TDSR will fund.
MAS sourceMAS
The Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps a borrower's total monthly debt obligations at 55% of gross monthly income.
All property loans from financial institutions in Singapore.
Where people go wrong: Treating TDSR as applying only to the mortgage. It includes car loans, personal loans, student loans and credit card minimums.
MAS source
Which version of this applies to you
Buying from a developer
No Option to Purchase — a booking fee, then the Sale and Purchase Agreement within three weeks, then progressive payments against construction milestones. The commission is the developer’s, not yours.
The register and mapBuying from overseas
Non-landed private units need no approval regardless of nationality, but ABSD is 60% unless a free trade agreement applies. Completion without flying in is possible with a properly executed Power of Attorney, subject to the lender.
Foreign buyer positionBuying while you still own
ABSD is payable upfront, and a Singapore Citizen married couple may apply for remission if the first property sells within six months of the new purchase completing. The application has conditions and the clock does not stop.
Selling, and the order to do it in
Buying
What buyers ask before they commit
How much cash do I actually need on top of the deposit?
For a private purchase with a bank loan at 75% loan-to-value, the standard structure is 5% in cash on the Option to Purchase, 20% from cash or CPF Ordinary Account on exercising, and the balance financed. Buyer’s Stamp Duty and any ABSD are payable within 14 days of the document date and may draw on CPF, though the reimbursement arrives after you have already paid it. Legal fees run roughly $2,500 to $3,500 on a straightforward conveyance.
What is the difference between an Option to Purchase and a Sale and Purchase Agreement?
On a resale, the seller grants an Option to Purchase for 1% of the price, and you have the option period — typically 14 days — to exercise it by paying a further 4%. On a new launch from a developer you pay a booking fee, receive the Sale and Purchase Agreement, and have three weeks to sign it. Both are binding once exercised, and both forfeit money if you walk away.
When exactly is stamp duty due, and what happens if it is late?
Within 14 days of the date of the document if it is signed in Singapore, or 30 days if signed overseas. IRAS charges a penalty for late payment, and the instrument is not admissible as evidence until it is duly stamped. This is a diary date, not a guideline — the deadline runs from the document date, not from completion.
How long does a purchase take from Option to keys?
A resale completion is usually 8 to 12 weeks from the exercise of the Option, driven by the lawyers, the bank and the CPF Board rather than by either party. A new launch is a different timescale entirely: the wait is until Temporary Occupation Permit, which for a project launching today is typically three to four years.
Do I need an in-principle approval before I start viewing?
Yes, and get it before the viewings rather than between the viewing and the Option. An IPA is the bank confirming what it will lend on your income and existing commitments, and it is what turns a budget into a number. It is indicative and typically valid for 30 days, so it is worth timing it to when you are genuinely looking.
Can I use my CPF for everything?
No. The Ordinary Account may be used for the purchase price, stamp duties and certain legal fees, but not for the option fee at the point it is paid, not for renovation, and not for the cash portion the bank requires. The amount you may use is also capped by the Valuation Limit and, past that, by the Withdrawal Limit — and where the remaining lease will not cover the youngest owner to age 95, usage is prorated or disallowed.
Statutory figures verified against the issuing authorities on 2026-08-01. General information, not advice on your circumstances — confirm the stamp duty position with IRAS and the loan with your bank in writing.
Start with the constraint, not the listing
Send the position — income, existing loans, CPF available, whether you still own something — and get back the ceiling and which of the three rules is the one binding it. That single answer removes most of the market from consideration before you spend a weekend on it.
Send your position