How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a Condo in Singapore?

The price on the listing is not what you need on hand. With a 75% loan, you fund the rest — and it comes in four parts:

Of that total, at least 5% of the price — $75,000 — must be physical cash. The rest of the downpayment, and the stamp duty, can be paid from your CPF Ordinary Account.

So the real question is not just "how much" but "how much cash." For a first home that cash floor is 5% of the price; the rest is CPF-fundable. Work out your own figure on the Property Financial Planner.

Rates as of 2026 — verify with IRAS and CPF. Figures are illustrative, not personalised advice.

Many buyers save for the 25% downpayment and stop there. The downpayment is the largest piece, but it is not the whole bill:

1. Downpayment — 25% of the price. The part the loan doesn't cover. See minimum cash and CPF downpayment.
2. Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) — charged on every purchase, 1% to 6% on a marginal scale. See how to calculate BSD.
3. Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) — nil for a citizen's first home, but 20% on a second and more for PRs and foreigners. See ABSD rates.
4. Legal and valuation fees — conveyancing and the bank's valuation, usually a few thousand dollars.

The stamp duty alone is the part that catches people: on a $1.5m home, BSD is $44,600 — more than a tenth of the downpayment, on top of it.

This is the distinction that decides whether you can actually complete the purchase.

On a bank loan at 75%:

• At least 5% of the price must be cash — on a $1.5m home, that is $75,000 you cannot pay with CPF.
• The next 20% of the downpayment can come from cash or CPF Ordinary Account.
• Buyer's Stamp Duty and ABSD can be paid from cash or CPF.

On an HDB concessionary loan at 75% (for an HDB flat or eligible EC), the 25% downpayment is fully payable by CPF — there is no compulsory cash portion at all, provided you have the CPF.

So two buyers of the same-priced home can need very different amounts of cash, depending on the loan. The floor is the thing to check first: do you have the minimum cash, before you worry about the rest?

Buyer's Stamp Duty applies to every residential purchase, on a marginal scale:

Because it is marginal, only the slice inside each band is taxed at that band's rate. So on a $1.5m home the BSD is $44,600, and on a $2m home it is $69,600 — not a flat percentage of the whole price. Full method and more examples: how to calculate Buyer's Stamp Duty. It is payable within 14 days of signing.

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty is the cost that changes everything for a second purchase. It is charged on the whole price, by residency and how many residential properties you already own:

On a $1.5m second home, a citizen pays $300,000 in ABSD — payable upfront in cash or CPF, and usually the single largest line in the deal. Nationals of the United States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are charged at citizen rates under free trade agreements. Full detail: ABSD rates.

A second property is not a little more expensive to fund — it is dramatically more, because two limits move at once:

• The loan drops. A second home loan is capped at 45% LTV, so your downpayment rises from 25% to 55%.
• ABSD applies. A citizen adds 20% of the price on top.

Here is the same $1.5m home as a first versus a second purchase for a citizen:

The minimum cash also rises — from 5% to 25% of the price on a second loan. This is why upgraders often sell first: selling before you buy keeps you at first-property rates.

For an HDB flat or an executive condominium, the same four costs apply but the numbers are smaller and the cash rules gentler.

For a citizen first-timer buying a $600,000 resale flat:

With an HDB concessionary loan, that entire amount can come from CPF — no compulsory cash. Eligible first-timers may also receive housing grants (credited to CPF), which reduce the cash and CPF you need further. An EC follows private-property stamp-duty rules but allows CPF grants for eligible buyers.

For a citizen buying a first private home, with a 75% bank loan:

The total can come from cash and CPF together; the minimum cash column is the part CPF cannot cover. Add roughly $3,000–$5,000 in legal and valuation fees. A second property needs far more — see the section above. Run your exact case on the Property Financial Planner.

Regulatory figures. The 25% downpayment, the 5% and 25% minimum-cash rules, and the 75%/45% loan-to-value limits are from the Monetary Authority of Singapore; Buyer's Stamp Duty and ABSD rates are from IRAS; CPF usage and the HDB loan downpayment rules are from the CPF Board and HDB. All are current as of 2026 — verify the live figure on IRAS, CPF, MAS or HDB before you commit.

Worked examples. Stamp duty is computed on the marginal BSD scale and flat ABSD rates above; downpayments are the stated LTV percentages. Figures use round illustrative prices, exclude any grants unless stated, and assume a standard purchase.

What we have not claimed: that these figures are personalised advice; that any specific purchase is affordable for you; or that rates are fixed — they move with policy. This is general information, not financial advice. For your own numbers, run the Property Financial Planner.