How much cash do I need to fork out as a downpayment to purchase a Private Condominium or Executive Condominium in Singapore? What is the cash and CPF needed at the different stages? Can I use my Central Provident Fund (CPF) for purchase? What are the other charges involved in buying a property and can I use my CPF to pay them?

These are the questions we typically received from our clients when they are looking to buy a Singapore Residential Property.

For the purpose of this article, we assumed that you are aware of the loan you can get from the bank or your budget to buy your property. If you need a quick assessment of your financial budget based on your age, income, expenses, existing property portfolio, ABSD applicable, etc., you may use this online property affordability calculator or ask a mortgage banker.

In this article, we will discuss the Cash and CPF that is required to purchase your property based on your loan amount and the stages where CPF can be used. We will also sum up with the minimum cash you need to purchase the property.

Let’s look at two very common scenarios:

1. Buying your first property.
2. Buying your second property and financing an existing property.

Note:

• Scenario 1 is applicable to buying of Private Condo (New or Resale) and Executive Condo (New or Resale).
• Scenario 2 is applicable to buying New Private Condo or Resale Private Condo / Executive Condo.
• ABSD may be payable depending on your nationality and the number of existing properties you own. You may refer to this article “What is ABSD?” to find out the ABSD payable according to your profile.

Scenario 1: Buying your first property

Assuming you are a Singapore citizen buying your first property, a 3-Bedroom Condo at Parc Riviera with a price tag of SGD 1,100,000.

Here would be the breakdown of the Cash and CPF you need at different stages when buying your property:

Payment	% of Purchase Price	Amount to Pay ($)	Payment By	Remarks
Book Day - Option to Purchase (OTP) Granted	5	55,000	Cash
Upon signing of Sales and Purchase Agreement (S&P) / Option-to-Purchase	15	165,000	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Balance 80% of Purchase Price upon sales completion of the resale property / completed project or upon request by developer for condominium under construction	80	880,000	1st 5% Cash/CPF, remaining 75% can be Cash/CPF/Bank Loan.	Interest are payable to the bank and mortgage loan repayment can be paid by Cash/CPF
Duties & Fees Payable for Purchase of Property
Buyer Stamp Duty	4% of Purchase Price - $15,400	28,600	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Mortgage Stamp Duty		500	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash and/or CPF OA
Valuation of Property		Approx. $300	Cash	Cheque or Cashier's Order
Legal Fee (excluding GST)		3,000	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Total Cash & CPF required for the downpayment (Including stamp duties and other fees)		252,400
Minimum Cash required for the downpayment (Including stamp duties and other fees)		55,300

 

Scenario 2: Buying your second property and financing an existing property.

 Assuming you a Singapore citizen buying your 2^nd property which is a 2-bedroom condo at 26 Newton for SGD 1,450,000.

Here would be the breakdown of the Cash and CPF required at various stages of the transaction process:

 

Payment	% of Purchase Price	Amount to Pay	Payment By	Remarks
Book Day - Option to Purchase (OTP) Granted	5	72,500	Cash
Upon signing of Sales and Purchase Agreement (S&P) / Option-to-Purchase	15	217,500	Cash
1 st Balance of 5% of the Purchase Price after sales completion of resale property / completed project or upon request by the developer for condominium under construction.	5	72,500	Cash
Next 2 nd Balance of 25% of the Purchase Price after sales completion of resale property / completed project or upon request by the developer for condominium under construction.	25	362,500	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Balance 60% of Purchase Price after completion for resale property or upon request by developer for new condominium	50	725,000	Bank Loan	Interest are payable to the bank and mortgage loan repayment can be paid by Cash/CPF
Duties & fees payable for purchase of property
Buyer Stamp Duty	4% of Purchase Price - $15,400	42,600	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (Singaporean's 2nd Property)	7% of Purchase Price	101,500	Cash and/or CPF OA	ABSD is payable for the purchase of 2 nd Property. Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Mortgage Stamp Duty		500	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash and/or CPF OA
Valuation of Property		Approx. $300	Cash	Cheque or Cashier's Order
Legal Fee (excluding GST)		3,000	Cash and/or CPF OA	Cash needed if insufficient CPF Funds.
Total Cash/CPF required for the downpayment (Including stamp duties and other fees)		437,500
Minimum Cash needed for the downpayment (Including stamp duties and other fees)		290,300
Total Cash/CPF Needed for Purchase before Bank Financing Kicks in		872,900
Minimum Cash Needed For Purchase before Bank Financing Kicks in		362,800

We hope the above examples would give you a good understanding of the amount of Cash and CPF you need when buying your property. And if you need help to work out your property budget with the estimated amount of loan you can get, cash required for the down payment, monthly repayment to be paid, ABSD payable, Legal Fees, etc., you check out this free online tool, Property Budget Calculator, provided by our partner, Realila.  It’s a very handy tool you will never regret using. If you prefer to talk to our consultant to help you to work out your finance to purchase your next property, you can also drop us a note using the contact form below.

Other pages you may be interested in:

• Decoupling to reduce or avoid ABSD: Savings, Costs & Potential Pitfall
• Getting Cash out of your property without selling it – Home Loan Equity.
• What is ABSD and how much ABSD you need to pay as Singaporean, Singapore PR or Foreigners?
• Executive Condo from Developers
• Private Condominiums from Developers

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