The questions, answered

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A preview is the window before public launch when registered buyers can view the show suite, receive the price list and ballot for units. It secures priority of selection, which matters when a particular stack is scarce. It does not by itself secure a discount — pricing is set by the developer and applies to everyone in the same release.

On a developer sale the commission is paid by the developer, not by you, and the price you pay is the developer’s price whether you attend alone or with representation. The commercial terms are set out in writing before anything is signed, as CEA requires.

For a building under construction you pay in stages tied to certified construction milestones, starting with the booking fee and the exercise of the sale and purchase agreement, then drawing down through foundation, structure, walls, roofing and completion. Your loan disburses in step, so interest builds progressively rather than from day one.

It depends on holding period, financing and what you would have bought instead. A new launch carries construction risk, a longer wait for rental income, and Seller’s Stamp Duty exposure that now runs four years. A resale carries a shorter remaining lease and renovation cost. The comparison is arithmetic, not ideology.

Yes — units in a non-landed private development may be bought without government approval regardless of nationality. The cost differs sharply: a foreign buyer pays 60% ABSD under the rates in force since 27 April 2023, unless they hold one of the five nationalities treated as Singapore Citizens under a free trade agreement.

Yes, with limits. Units in non-landed private developments — condominiums and apartments — may be bought without government approval. Landed residential property requires approval from the Land Dealings Approval Unit at the Singapore Land Authority, and HDB flats are not available to foreigners.

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty of 60% on the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher, under the rates in force since 27 April 2023 — on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty, which reaches 6% at the top band. On a $2m purchase that is $1.2m of ABSD plus $69,600 of BSD.

Nationals and permanent residents of the United States, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland are accorded the same stamp duty treatment as Singapore Citizens under the respective free trade agreements. The relief follows nationality, not residence, and the list is set by treaty rather than by policy discretion.

Not necessarily. A properly executed Power of Attorney, notarised abroad and — for a country party to the Apostille Convention — apostilled, allows an attorney in Singapore to sign on your behalf. Lender acceptance is the usual constraint, so raise it with the bank before the offer rather than after.

Estate agents in Singapore must perform customer due diligence before any agreement, verify identity from reliable independent sources, and establish beneficial ownership. Where a person acts through another — which a Power of Attorney does — that other person must be identified too. Assembling those documents early saves weeks.

All three, in a specific order. Joel Goh (Goh Jian Kern, Joel) is the salesperson you engage, CEA registration R055731I. He is part of the JNA Real Estate team. The licensed estate agent — the party to the estate agency agreement — is PropNex Realty Pte. Ltd., licence L3008022J. JNA is a team name, not a separate licensed agency.

Search the CEA Public Register at cea.gov.sg using the registration number that must appear on every piece of a salesperson’s advertising. It will confirm the registered name, the estate agent they work under, and the licence number of that agency. If a number is missing from an advertisement, that is itself a breach.

Because they move. ABSD rates were last revised on 27 April 2023, Seller’s Stamp Duty on 4 July 2025, and Master Plan 2025 replaced the 2019 plan on 1 December 2025. A property article with undated numbers is unusable within a year, so every rate here names the issuing authority, the effective date, and the date it was last checked.

No. An initial conversation, a stamp duty computation, and an affordability position are not chargeable. Commission arises only on a completed transaction and is set out in the estate agency agreement before any work begins, as CEA requires.

That is usually the better time to talk. Most of the expensive mistakes in Singapore property are timing mistakes — a sale completed a month too early, an ABSD remission window missed by weeks, a decoupling done in the wrong order. Those are decided long before anyone views a property.