How to Buy a Property in Singapore: The 10-Step Process (2026)

How we made this. Updated for 2026 with AI-assisted research. Figures are linked to their sources — check them before you act.

Buying a home in Singapore follows a fixed legal sequence. You set your budget, get the loan approved in principle, find the unit, take an option, exercise it, pay stamp duty, and complete. A private resale purchase usually takes a few months from offer to keys. The costliest mistakes happen in the first three steps, before you view a single unit, so do them properly.

At a glance

Fix the budget first. Banks test your loan at 4% interest, and all debts must fit within 55% of income. The loan covers at most 75% of the price, and at least 5% must be cash.
Get an approval in principle (and, for an HDB flat, an HFE letter) before you pay any option fee.
Private resale: pay about 1% for the option, exercise it within about two weeks (commonly 5% in total), then pay stamp duty within 14 days.
New launch: pay a 5–10% booking fee and 20% at contract. HDB resale: pay an option fee of up to S$1,000 for a 21-day option, with no more than S$5,000 in total.
Hire your own conveyancing lawyer, and agree any agent’s commission in writing. An agent cannot collect commission from both buyer and seller.

Before you look

Step 1: decide whether to buy at all

Buying makes sense if you will stay at least four years and can pay the downpayment without emptying your buffers. Selling within four years triggers Seller’s Stamp Duty of 4–16%. Our rent-or-buy guide has the full comparison.

Step 2: check what you may buy, and the tax you will pay

Your status sets your options and your stamp duty:

ABSD depends on your residency and how many homes you own on the day you buy. Citizens pay 0% / 20% / 30% on a first, second and third home. PRs pay 5% / 30% / 35%. Foreigners pay 60%. Joint buyers pay the highest applicable rate on the whole price.
HDB and EC owners must finish the minimum occupation period before buying private property. That is 5 years for Standard flats and 10 years for Plus and Prime flats.
HDB buyers need an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. For new flats, grants or an HDB loan, the family income ceiling is now S$16,000 (from 24 August 2026).
Private owners moving to HDB: since 28 July 2026, you no longer wait 15 months to buy a resale flat without grants or an HDB loan. You must sell the private home within six months.
Foreigners cannot buy HDB flats and need SLA approval for landed homes.

Step 3: work out your budget

Three rules cap what you can borrow. The TDSR keeps all monthly debt repayments, tested at 4% interest, within 55% of gross income. The MSR caps the mortgage at 30% of income for HDB flats and for ECs bought from developers. And the loan-to-value limit is 75% on a first loan (lower for longer tenures or second loans).

Take a household earning S$12,000 a month with no other debts:

Private home: 55% gives S$6,600 a month. At 4% over 30 years, that supports a loan of about S$1.38 million. That loan fits a price of about S$1.84 million, but only if you also have S$460,000 for the downpayment (at least S$92,000 in cash) and S$61,600 for Buyer’s Stamp Duty.
HDB flat with an HDB loan: the MSR allows S$3,600 a month. HDB tests at 3%, so the maximum 25-year loan is about S$759,000.

These are ceilings, not targets. Most households sleep better well below them. Check your figures in the Propwise mortgage calculator, and read our guide to TDSR.

Count your CPF too. CPF usage is capped at the lower of price or valuation. It is also pro-rated if the remaining lease does not cover the youngest buyer to age 95.

Choosing the home

Step 4: get your loan approved in principle

Ask one or two banks (or a broker) for an approval in principle (IPA), and ideally an indicative valuation for the type of home you want. For an HDB flat, apply for the HFE letter, which is valid for nine months. With an IPA, you can make offers knowing the money exists. Do not take on new debt until the purchase completes.

Step 5: choose the type of home and the area

Decide on HDB, EC, condo or landed, and on new launch or resale (see new launch vs resale). Then shortlist areas. Look at your commute, schools, the remaining lease, and what URA’s Master Plan zones for nearby land. A quiet field next door may be a future road or a school.

Step 6: research prices

Look up actual transacted prices, not asking prices. Use URA’s private transaction search and HDB’s resale price data. Compare the same project over time, then nearby projects of similar age. If you want a rental check, look up URA rental data too.

Step 7: view, then do your due diligence

View each shortlisted unit, and visit at night and on a weekday morning. For a condo, ask about maintenance fees, the sinking fund and any planned special levies. For a resale home, bring someone who can spot defects, because there is no warranty. For a new launch, read URA’s guide on what show units may omit. Make sure the agent is registered with CEA. Under CEA rules, commission is negotiable and an agent cannot collect it from both sides. Our list of questions to ask before a deal helps here.

Committing

Step 8: negotiate and take the option to purchase

The option to purchase (OTP) reserves the home for you. The terms depend on what you buy:

	Private resale	New launch	HDB resale
To get the OTP	Option fee, commonly 1%	Booking fee of 5–10%	Option fee of S$1–S$1,000
Time to exercise	Agreed in the OTP (two weeks in the standard CEA template)	3 weeks after the developer delivers the sale and purchase agreement (due within 14 days)	21 calendar days
To exercise	Commonly a top-up to 5% of the price	Sign the agreement; pay 20% less the booking fee	Option exercise fee; total of both fees no more than S$5,000
If you walk away	Lose the option fee	Developer may keep 25% of the booking fee	Lose the option fee

Sources: the CEA OTP template, the URA home buyers’ guide and the gov.sg resale guide. For an HDB resale flat, HDB’s Request for Value tells you the valuation before you decide to exercise, and you must confirm your financing first.

Step 9: exercise the option, pay stamp duty, and line up the paperwork

Once you exercise, the deal is binding. Buyer’s Stamp Duty (and any ABSD) is due within 14 days. CPF OA savings can be used for stamp duty and legal fees, but arrange this early. Your lawyer will check the title, lodge a caveat to protect your interest, and coordinate the bank loan and CPF release.

Decide how you will hold the home with any co-owner. Under a joint tenancy, the survivor takes the whole property. Under a tenancy-in-common, each owner holds a share that passes under their will. If you buy with someone other than a spouse, agree in writing what happens if one of you wants to sell.

For an HDB resale flat, both sides submit the resale application. Documents are ready about three weeks after HDB accepts it. Completion is usually about eight weeks after acceptance.

Completing

Step 10: complete the purchase and collect the keys

Before completion, inspect the home again and check that agreed fittings are still there. On completion day, your lawyer pays the balance from your loan and CPF, and you receive the keys. Then:

HDB loan buyers must buy HDB fire insurance. If you pay with CPF, you are covered by the Home Protection Scheme.
New launch buyers get the keys after TOP and the 25% instalment that falls due then. Report defects within the 12-month defects liability period. Legal completion follows the developer’s Notice to Complete.
Everyone who lives in the home should check that IRAS treats it as owner-occupied, because owner-occupier property tax rates are far lower. Keep a cash buffer for renovation surprises.

Bottom line

The order matters more than the speed. Status and tax first, then budget, then loan approval, and only then viewings and offers. If you follow these steps, the option fee becomes a formality, not a gamble. Before you start, read our list of common mistakes to avoid.

Sources

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) — IRAS, rates effective 27 Apr 2023 (checked Oct 2026)
Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) — IRAS, rates effective 15 Feb 2023 (checked Oct 2026)
Extension of the SSD holding period and higher SSD rates — MAS, 3 Jul 2025
MSR and TDSR rules — MAS (checked Oct 2026)
Loan tenure and loan-to-value limits — MAS, updated 27 Mar 2024
How much CPF savings you can use for your home purchase — CPF Board (checked Oct 2026)
Home Protection Scheme — CPF Board (checked Oct 2026)
HDB selling eligibility (MOP) — HDB, 18 Aug 2026
Increase in income ceilings and greater support for families with children — MND, 23 Aug 2026
Removal of the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners buying non-subsidised resale flats — MND, 28 Jul 2026
Foreign ownership of property — SLA, updated 20 Aug 2025
How to buy an HDB BTO flat — gov.sg, updated 29 Jun 2026
How to buy a resale HDB flat — gov.sg (checked Oct 2026)
Buying property: home buyers’ guide — URA, updated 29 Jun 2026
Option to Purchase template for private residential property — CEA / DPTWG, v1.2, 10 Feb 2021
Buying or selling: engaging a property agent — CEA, updated 18 Aug 2025
Private residential transaction search — URA (checked Oct 2026)
Resale flat prices — HDB via data.gov.sg (checked Oct 2026)
Property tax rates — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)