How Much Do I Need to Buy a Condo? Upfront, Monthly and Yearly Costs in Singapore

How much do I need to buy a condo? The honest answer is more than the down payment. A condo purchase in Singapore comes with upfront costs at booking, stamp duty within days, instalments that build up during construction, and running costs once you get the keys. This guide lists each one, then works through illustrative figures for two unit sizes at LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences), the new launch above Hougang MRT (NE14).

1. Upfront: what you pay to secure the unit

• Booking fee (5%). Paid in cash when you receive the option to purchase.
• Balance of the down payment (15%). Due at signing of the sale and purchase agreement, about 8 weeks later. With a first housing loan at the maximum 75% loan-to-value (LTV), the total down payment is 25%, of which at least 5% must be cash. The rest can come from cash or CPF Ordinary Account savings, within CPF limits.
• Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD). Tiered: 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 that.
• Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), if it applies. 0% for a Singapore Citizen’s first home; 5% for a Singapore PR’s first; 20% for a Citizen’s second; 60% for foreigners.
• Legal fees. Conveyancing fees for the purchase and the mortgage. Ask two or three law firms for quotes.

Our condo down payment guide goes deeper on the cash and CPF split, and our step-by-step guide to buying a condo in Singapore shows when each payment falls. Use the calculator to check stamp duty on any price:

2. During construction: instalments that build up

On a new launch under the normal progressive payment scheme, the remaining 75% is paid in stages as construction progresses: foundation, frame, walls, roof, fittings, car park and roads, then 25% at TOP and 15% at CSC. If you borrow, the bank pays these stages and you pay interest only on what has been drawn. Instalments start small and rise, with the biggest step at TOP. The payment scheme page shows the full schedule.

3. After key collection: the running costs

• Mortgage instalment on the full loan.
• Maintenance fees, paid to the MCST in proportion to your unit’s share value. See our maintenance fee guide.
• Property tax, yearly, based on Annual Value and much lower if you live in the unit. See our property tax guide.
• Insurance. Home contents cover, and mortgage protection if your family needs it. The CPF Home Protection Scheme does not cover private property, so condo owners arrange private cover; our mortgage insurance guide explains the options.
• Utilities, renovation and furnishing, which vary widely with your choices.

Worked example: LinkTown 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom

Assumptions: Singapore Citizen buying a first home, 75% LTV, 30-year loan, S$2,500 psf, indicative sizes of 678 sq ft (2-bedroom) and 1,066 sq ft (3-bedroom).

How the 2-bedroom BSD works: S$1,800 + S$3,600 + S$19,200 + S$20,000 on the first S$1.5 million, then 5% of the remaining S$195,000 (S$9,750), for S$54,350. The 2.5% rate is a round illustrative figure, not a quote; check current packages with banks or a broker. Banks assess affordability at the 4% stress-test rate, so the second instalment row is roughly the one your income needs to support under the 55% TDSR limit; see our TDSR guide.

Property tax is set later from market rents. As a hypothetical example only: on an Annual Value of S$50,000, an owner-occupier would pay S$1,720 a year at current IRAS rates; if the whole unit were rented out, S$8,000.

Register to get LinkTown Residences prices by unit type as soon as they’re released.