5 things to do before you visit any showflat (2026 checklist)

A showflat is built to make you buy that day. Walk in already knowing how much you can borrow, how much cash you need and when, what stamp duty you will pay, and what the developer is legally required to show you. Then the sales pitch becomes information, not pressure.

At a glance

• Get a bank’s in-principle approval first. Your loan is capped by the 55% Total Debt Servicing Ratio, tested at a 4% interest rate.
• The booking fee is 5% to 10% of the price, in cash. You must pay 20% of the price within eight weeks of the option date.
• ABSD for a citizen is 0% on a first home, 20% on a second and 30% on a third. It is due within 14 days of signing.
• If you let the option lapse, the developer may keep 25% of your booking fee.
• The developer must show you the unit’s strata area broken down into rooms, balcony, air-con ledge and void. Read it before you pay anything.

1. Find out how much you can actually borrow

Your loan size is set by MAS rules, not by the developer’s “affordability” table.

• TDSR. All your monthly debt repayments, including car loans and other home loans, may not exceed 55% of gross monthly income. Banks calculate this at a floor rate of 4% for residential loans, even though packages cost about 1.5–1.8% floating and 2.0–2.2% fixed in late September 2026 (The Business Times, 2 Oct 2026).
• MSR. If you are buying an executive condo from the developer, the 30% Mortgage Servicing Ratio also applies. It does not apply to private condos.
• LTV. With no outstanding home loan, a bank can lend up to 75% of the price. With one existing loan the limit is 45%, and with two or more it is 35%. Each limit falls by 20 percentage points if the tenure is over 30 years or the loan runs past age 65.

Worked example. Say a couple, both 35, earn S$15,000 a month gross and have no other debts.

• TDSR cap: 55% × S$15,000 = S$8,250 a month.
• At the 4% test rate over 30 years, S$8,250 a month supports a loan of about S$1.728m.
• At 75% LTV, that suggests a maximum price of about S$2.3m.
• At an actual rate of about 1.8%, the instalment on S$1.728m would be about S$6,220 a month. It would be much more if rates rise.

That is a ceiling, not a target. Most buyers should stop well short of it. Run your own numbers in the Propwise mortgage calculator, and see our guide to TDSR.

Then ask a bank for an in-principle approval (IPA) before your visit. Expect to provide your NRIC, recent payslips, income tax notices, CPF contribution history and details of existing loans. URA’s Home Buyers’ Guide advises you to check your loan eligibility before you pay the booking fee.

2. Count your cash and CPF, stage by stage

A loan covers at most 75% of the price. You need the rest in cash and CPF, at specific times.

What	How much	Cash or CPF?
Booking fee, for the option to purchase	5% to 10% of price (5% is common)	Cash
Rest of the down payment, within 8 weeks of the option date	Up to 20% in total, including the booking fee	Cash and/or CPF Ordinary Account, subject to limits
Minimum cash down payment	5% of price for a first loan; 25% if you already have a home loan	Cash
Buyer’s Stamp Duty and any ABSD	See below	Due within 14 days of signing

On the S$2.3m example above, the 25% down payment is S$576,000. At least 5%, about S$115,200, must be cash, and the 5% booking fee counts towards it. Buyer’s Stamp Duty on S$2.304m is S$84,800 (IRAS BSD rates). Add legal fees on top.

CPF has its own limits. You can use CPF up to the lower of the price or valuation, and up to 120% of that if you set aside the Basic Retirement Sum. Full CPF use also requires the lease to cover the youngest buyer to age 95. Check your own limits on the CPF Board’s website before you plan to use CPF.

3. Know your stamp duty bracket

The ABSD figures in older versions of this article (7% and 10%) are long gone. These are the current rates, in force since 27 April 2023:

Buyer	1st home	2nd	3rd and later
Singapore citizen	0%	20%	30%
Permanent resident	5%	30%	35%
Foreigner	60%	60%	60%

If you buy jointly, the highest rate among the buyers applies to the whole price. A married couple with at least one citizen who buys a second home can get the ABSD refunded, but only by selling the first home within six months of the new unit’s TOP. Plan that timeline before you book.

Plan your exit too. A home bought from 4 July 2025 attracts Seller’s Stamp Duty of 16% to 4% if sold within four years. Selling before completion is no longer a cheap way out.

4. Understand the payment schedule and timeline

Licensed developers must use the standard option and sale agreement forms in the Housing Developers Rules. The sequence is:

1. You pay the booking fee and receive the option to purchase (OTP). Before this, the developer must carry out customer due diligence checks on you.
2. Within 14 days, the developer sends the sale and purchase agreement (S&PA) and title documents to you or your lawyer.
3. You have three weeks from delivery to exercise the option by signing the S&PA. The developer may allow up to eight weeks from the option date to pay the balance of the 20%.
4. If you do not exercise the option, the developer may keep 25% of the booking fee and refund 75% (URA Home Buyers’ Guide).

After that, you pay by construction stage, within 14 days of each notice:

Stage	% of price
Option and S&PA (including booking fee)	20%
Foundation completed	10%
Reinforced concrete framework	10%
Partition walls	5%
Roofing	5%
Door and window frames, wiring, plastering, plumbing	5%
Car park, roads and drains	5%
TOP, with roads, drains, sewerage and utilities complete	25%
Certificate of Statutory Completion or legal completion	15%

With a 75% loan, your own 25% covers the first 20% plus half of the foundation payment. The bank pays the rest as each stage is certified. You pay interest only on what has been drawn, so instalments start small and rise towards TOP.

If you miss a payment by more than 14 days, the developer can treat the contract as repudiated and keep up to 20% of the price. That is why your cash plan matters as much as your loan.

Executive condo buyers should also note a change. The Deferred Payment Scheme is no longer available for ECs on land sold from 8 May 2026 (MND).

5. Do your homework on the project, then check the showflat properly

Before the visit:

• Prices nearby. Check recent transactions for similar homes within a kilometre or two on URA’s transaction search. This gives you a yardstick for the launch price.
• The developer. Check that it holds a valid housing developer’s licence, and look up the quality scores of its past projects under BCA’s CONQUAS scheme.
• The actual site. Visit the land, not just the gallery. Walk to the MRT station and time it, and note what is next door. Our article on buying from an artist’s impression explains why.

At the showflat, URA’s guide sets out what the developer must show and tell you:

• A location plan drawn to scale, showing schools, shops and places of worship within 500m.
• A site plan and model showing every facility, including the bin centre and electrical substation.
• At each show unit, a floor plan with the area broken down by room, air-con ledge and void, plus floor-to-ceiling heights.
• Walls or doors left out of the show unit must be marked on the floor. Decor such as curtains, lighting and wallpaper is not included in the sale.

Before taking your booking fee, the developer must give you the unit’s strata area breakdown, its specifications, any conditions imposed by the authorities and its share value, which sets your maintenance fees. Get any freebies, such as appliances, confirmed in writing.

Two more points. Agents at the gallery represent the developer, not you. And if you are asked for a “blank” cheque as an expression of interest, URA says it is not a commitment to buy. Ask for it back if you do not go ahead.

Once you know you are a serious buyer, read our guide to picking the best unit in any project.

Bottom line

Do the dull work before the exciting visit. Get an in-principle approval, write out your cash and CPF needs for each stage, and confirm your ABSD and SSD position. Know what the law requires the developer to show you. Then, if a unit fits your numbers and your life, you can commit calmly. If it doesn’t, you can walk away without losing 25% of a booking fee. This is general information, not financial advice for your situation.

Sources

• MSR and TDSR rules — MAS, checked Oct 2026
• Loan tenure and loan-to-value limits — MAS, updated 27 Mar 2024
• Home Buyers’ Guide (uncompleted private residential property) — URA, 5 Sep 2025
• Housing Developers Rules, prescribed sale and purchase agreement and payment schedule — Singapore Statutes Online, accessed 2 Oct 2026
• How much CPF savings you can use for your home purchase — CPF Board, checked Oct 2026
• Buyer’s Stamp Duty — IRAS, rates from 15 Feb 2023, checked Oct 2026
• Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty — IRAS, rates from 27 Apr 2023, checked Oct 2026
• Seller’s Stamp Duty for residential property — IRAS, rates from 4 Jul 2025, checked Oct 2026
• Strengthening the executive condominium housing scheme — MND, 8 May 2026
• Private residential transaction search — URA, accessed Oct 2026
• CONQUAS — Building and Construction Authority, accessed Oct 2026
• S’pore mortgage rates rise following Fed hike: What home owners should look out for — The Business Times, 2 Oct 2026