Refinancing Home Loan Singapore: When to Switch After Lock-In or TOP

Refinancing a home loan in Singapore means moving your mortgage to a different bank for a better rate or terms. It is common: very few owners keep the same package for 30 years. For a buyer at LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences), the question is less whether to refinance and more when, because a new launch loan is drawn in stages and the balance only becomes large near completion.

Refinancing vs repricing

Before you shop around, ask your own bank what it will offer. That is called repricing.

	Repricing (same bank)	Refinancing (new bank)
Paperwork	Light, often a form and a letter of offer	New application, valuation and conveyancing
Typical cost	May carry an admin or conversion fee	Legal and valuation fees, often subsidised by the new bank
Choice of packages	Only your bank’s range	The whole market
New lock-in	Often	Often

A repricing quote in writing gives you a baseline. Sometimes, once fees are counted, staying put is the cheaper option.

The MAS rules that apply

According to MAS’s refinancing explainer:

• Owner-occupied homes: TDSR and MSR do not apply when you refinance, but you must still meet the bank’s credit assessment.
• Investment properties: TDSR applies, unless you commit to a debt reduction plan repaying at least 3% of the outstanding balance over up to three years and meet the bank’s credit criteria.
• Loan amount: there is no regulatory LTV cap on a refinanced loan. A bank may lend up to the full outstanding amount if you pass its checks.
• Tenure: for private property, the new tenure is capped at 35 years minus the years already elapsed since the original loan was first disbursed.

The owner-occupier exemption matters for people whose income has fallen since they bought, or who have taken on other debts. It lets them move to a cheaper package without re-passing the 55% test described in our TDSR guide.

What refinancing costs

Lock-in penalty

Most bank packages carry a lock-in, typically one to three years. CPF Board’s comparison of HDB and bank loans puts the usual charge for early repayment or switching at around 1.5% of the outstanding loan. On a S$1.25 million balance that is S$18,750, more than most rate savings recover in two years.

Clawback of subsidies

Banks often pay your legal and valuation fees as a sweetener. The letter of offer may say that if you redeem within a set period, you repay that subsidy. The clawback period can be longer than the lock-in, so note both dates.

Fees on the new loan

If the new bank does not subsidise legal and valuation work, you pay it yourself. Ask for the figure upfront. Also check your old bank’s notice period for redemption: missing it can mean an extra month or quarter at the old rate.

A simple break-even check

Say you owe S$1,250,000 with 27 years left, and your package has moved to a thereafter rate of 2.2%. Another bank offers 1.6%.

	Rate (assumed)	Monthly instalment (approx.)
Stay on thereafter rate	2.2%	S$5,120
Refinance	1.6%	S$4,754
Monthly saving		about S$366

If switching costs you S$3,000 in unsubsidised fees, you recover it in about eight months. If you are still in a lock-in and face an S$18,750 penalty, it would take more than four years, so the move does not make sense yet. Run the same sum with every year of the new package, not just year one, since spreads often step up.

Refinancing a new launch loan: why TOP matters

For an uncompleted condo, the bank pays the developer as each construction stage is certified, and you pay interest only on what has been drawn. Under the standard schedule on our payment scheme page, the first 20% is cash and CPF, and the loan draws from the foundation stage. The biggest steps come at TOP (25% of the price) and CSC (15%).

That shapes the decision:

1. During construction: the balance is small, so a better rate saves little. A lock-in taken at booking may even expire before most of the loan is drawn.
2. A few months before TOP: a sensible time to ask your bank for a repricing offer and compare the market, because the instalment is about to jump.
3. After CSC: the loan is fully drawn and every 0.1% counts most. This is when many owners actually refinance.

Some banks will not take over a loan on an uncompleted property midway through disbursement, and switching before full drawdown can attract a fee on the undrawn amount. Ask the new bank directly. For LinkTown Residences, completion is expected around 2030/2031, and no TOP date has been announced. Our TOP vs CSC guide explains the two milestones.

Step by step

1. Find three dates in your letter of offer: lock-in end, clawback end and the notice period.
2. Ask your bank for a written repricing offer.
3. Get two or three quotes from other banks, directly or through a broker, on the same basis: rate by year, lock-in, penalty, subsidies and the thereafter rate.
4. Work out the break-even after all costs.
5. If you move, the new bank arranges a valuation and its lawyers redeem the old loan.
6. If you pay instalments from your CPF Ordinary Account, follow your bank’s and CPF Board’s steps to carry the arrangement over; see using CPF for private property.
7. Diarise the next review for when the new lock-in ends.

Common mistakes

• Comparing only the first-year rate.
• Forgetting the clawback on the old loan’s legal subsidy.
• Refinancing an investment property without checking whether TDSR still applies.
• Letting a fixed period roll into a high thereafter rate without noticing.

For current advertised ranges and how SORA feeds into them, see home loan rates in Singapore. The full picture, from in-principle approval to CSC, is in our home loan guide. Rates and bank terms change often: verify with MAS and your bank.

LinkTown Residences is expected to launch in early 2027, and UOL’s August 2026 results guide a 2H 2027 launch. The price list page will be updated when prices are out, so you can rework these sums with real numbers.

Register to get LinkTown Residences prices and payment details as soon as they’re released.

Frequently asked questions

When can I refinance my home loan in Singapore?

You can refinance at any time, but during the lock-in most banks charge a penalty, commonly around 1.5% of the amount repaid according to CPF Board. Most owners wait until the lock-in and any subsidy clawback period have ended.

Do I need to pass TDSR to refinance?

Not for a home you live in. MAS exempts refinancing of owner-occupied property from TDSR, though the bank still runs its own credit assessment. For an investment property, TDSR applies unless you commit to repaying at least 3% of the balance over up to three years.

What is the difference between repricing and refinancing?

Repricing moves you to a new package with the same bank, usually with less paperwork. Refinancing moves the loan to a different bank, which means new legal work and a valuation, often with subsidies that carry their own clawback terms.

Can I refinance a new launch loan before TOP?

Sometimes. Some banks will take over a loan on an uncompleted property and handle the remaining disbursements, and others will not. Many owners reprice with their current bank during construction and review the market around TOP. Check terms with each bank.