A private condo in Singapore costs about $1.88 million at the median in 2026, and roughly $2.13 million on average, based on the latest transaction data. On a $2 million unit bought as your first property on a 75% bank loan, you need around $569,600 in cash and CPF on day one: a $100,000 cash downpayment, $400,000 more from CPF or cash, and $69,600 in Buyer's Stamp Duty. After that the unit runs you about $7,500 to $8,500 a month once you add the mortgage, a maintenance fee of $300 to $700, and property tax of a few thousand dollars a year. That is the honest answer most listing ads skip. This guide breaks the cost into the three pieces that decide affordability: the upfront cash, the recurring monthly bills, and the taxes that hit at purchase and every year after. Every figure is a current 2026 Singapore number from IRAS, MAS and URA, so you can plug your own price in and see whether a condo fits your finances before an agent gets you excited.
The median resale-and-new-launch private condo transacted at about $1,875,000 in 2026, with the average pulled higher to roughly $2,128,000 by big-ticket city units. On a per-square-foot basis the average sits near $2,124 psf, but that headline hides a wide spread by location and whether you buy new or resale.
Three regions set the price. The Core Central Region (CCR), the prime districts around Orchard, River Valley and Sentosa, is the dearest. The Rest of Central Region (RCR), the city fringe, sits in the middle. The Outside Central Region (OCR), the suburbs where most first-time buyers shop, is the cheapest. New launches carry a developer premium of roughly 10% to 20% over comparable resale units, which is why a brand-new suburban condo can cost more per square foot than an older one two streets away.
Prices are still climbing but slowly. URA's price index rose 0.9% in Q1 2026, led by the suburbs (OCR non-landed +2.2%), after a revision up from the 0.3% flash estimate. So budget on prices holding or edging up through 2026, not falling. If you are weighing a condo against a flat, the HDB vs condo comparison sets out the trade-off in cost terms.
| Region | New launch (psf) | Resale (psf) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Central (CCR) | ~$3,200 | ~$2,200 to $2,800 |
| Rest of Central (RCR) | ~$2,700 | ~$1,900 |
| Outside Central (OCR) | ~$2,150 | ~$1,545 |
A condo's price only means something next to the alternatives. On a per-square-foot basis a private condo runs about $2,124 psf against roughly $639 psf for an HDB resale flat, so a condo costs in the region of three times as much for the same floor space. Landed property sits between the two on psf but far above both in total price, because you are buying the land.
The total-price gap is wide. A resale 4-room HDB flat changes hands around the high $600,000s on average, a 5-room nearer $780,000, while the median condo is about $1.88 million and the median landed home sits past $4.6 million. Those numbers explain the housing mix: roughly three in four residents live in HDB flats, fewer than one in five in condos, and a small slice in landed homes. A condo is a step up in price, facilities and tenure, not a like-for-like swap.
Running costs widen the gap further, not just the purchase price. A condo adds a monthly maintenance fee an HDB flat does not have, sits in higher property tax bands because its Annual Value is higher, and ties up far more cash and CPF on day one. If you are genuinely deciding between the two, weigh the lifetime cost, not the brochure, with the HDB vs condo comparison and the rent vs buy calculator.
| Housing type | Median price | Average price | Average psf |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDB resale flat (all types) | ~$628,000 | ~$652,000 | ~$639 |
| Private condo | ~$1,875,000 | ~$2,129,000 | ~$2,124 |
| Landed property | ~$4,650,000 | ~$5,928,000 | ~$1,816 |
The cash crunch on a condo is the downpayment plus Buyer's Stamp Duty, and most of it has to be money you actually have. For a bank loan on your first property with a tenure of 30 years or less, MAS caps the loan at 75% of the price (the Loan-to-Value or LTV limit). That leaves a 25% downpayment, of which at least 5% must be cash and the remaining 20% can come from cash or your CPF Ordinary Account.
On a $2 million condo that means $100,000 in hard cash for the 5%, plus $400,000 in cash or CPF for the 20%. Stretch the loan past 30 years or beyond your 65th birthday and the LTV drops to 55%, pushing the cash component up sharply, so most buyers keep tenure at 30 years or under. The mortgage calculator lets you test how tenure changes the monthly figure.
Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) is unavoidable and rises with price. It is charged on the higher of the price or market value, on a sliding scale that tops out at 6% for the slice above $3 million. You can compute your own bill on the stamp duty calculator, but the table below shows the bands that apply to every residential buyer in 2026.
| Portion of price/value | BSD rate |
|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Next $640,000 | 3% |
| Next $500,000 | 4% |
| Next $1,500,000 | 5% |
| Above $3,000,000 | 6% |
Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) is the single biggest swing factor in a condo's cost, and it depends entirely on who you are and how many homes you already own. The rates have held since 27 April 2023 and Budget 2026 left them unchanged. It is charged on top of BSD, on the higher of price or market value.
A Singapore Citizen buying their first and only residential property pays zero ABSD. That is the cheapest path into a condo and the one this guide assumes. Buy a second property while keeping the first and a citizen pays 20%; a third or more, 30%. Permanent Residents pay 5% on the first home and 30% on the second. Foreigners pay a flat 60% on any residential purchase, with citizens of the United States and nationals or PRs of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland treated as citizens under trade agreements.
The number is brutal in dollars. ABSD on a $2 million second home for a citizen is $400,000, on top of the $69,600 BSD. That is why many couples buying their first condo while owning an HDB flat look at decoupling so one spouse buys the condo as their first property. It is a legitimate but technical move with its own costs, and you should price it carefully before assuming it saves money.
| Buyer | 1st property | 2nd property | 3rd+ property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
Put the upfront pieces together for the common case: a Singapore Citizen couple buying their first condo at $2 million on a 75% bank loan, 30-year tenure. The loan is $1.5 million. The downpayment is $500,000, of which $100,000 must be cash and $400,000 can be CPF OA or cash. BSD is $69,600. There is no ABSD on a citizen's first property.
So the all-in cash-and-CPF needed at purchase is about $569,600, before you spend a cent on renovation or furniture. Of that, the genuinely cash-only minimum is $100,000 (the 5%) plus the $69,600 BSD if your CPF is tight, which is $169,600 in cold cash. The rest can lean on CPF OA. Add legal fees of roughly $2,500 to $3,000 and a valuation fee, and you are looking at around $572,000 in total to get the keys.
Renovation and fit-out is the cost buyers most often underestimate. A new condo handover is more move-in ready than a bare HDB flat, but built-in wardrobes, lighting, curtains, aircon top-ups and basic furniture still run $30,000 to $80,000 depending on size and taste. For a sense of scale, see our renovation cost guide and pad your budget rather than max out the loan.
| Item | Amount | Cash or CPF |
|---|---|---|
| Cash downpayment (5%) | $100,000 | Cash only |
| Further downpayment (20%) | $400,000 | Cash or CPF OA |
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | $69,600 | Cash or CPF OA |
| Legal and valuation fees | ~$3,000 | Cash |
| Total at purchase | ~$572,600 | Mix |
Two condos at the same price can hit your bank account on very different timelines. A resale condo completes in a few months and you draw the full loan at once, so the mortgage starts at its full monthly figure straight away. A new launch under construction runs on the Progressive Payment Scheme (PPS), set under the Housing Developers Rules, where you pay in stages tied to building progress over roughly three to four years.
Under PPS you put down 5% in cash to take the Option to Purchase, then 15% within about eight weeks when you sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (up to 5% of which can come from CPF). The remaining 80% draws down from your loan as the project hits foundation, frame, walls, roofing, services and completion. Because the bank only charges interest on what has been disbursed, your mortgage starts small and steps up as construction advances, which eases early cash flow but means you carry the loan for years before you can move in or rent it out.
That timing gap is a real cost either way. A new launch lets you hold cash longer and time a property sale around completion, but you pay rent or another mortgage in the meantime and shoulder construction risk. A resale gives you keys and rental income now at the price of a full mortgage from day one. Neither is cheaper in absolute terms; they suit different cash positions. The mortgage calculator helps you see the full-drawdown monthly figure you will eventually reach.
| Stage | Share of price |
|---|---|
| Option to Purchase (booking) | 5% |
| Signing Sale and Purchase Agreement | 15% |
| Completion of foundation | 10% |
| Completion of reinforced concrete framework | 10% |
| Completion of partition walls | 5% |
| Completion of roofing and ceiling | 5% |
| Completion of electrical, plumbing and plastering | 5% |
| Completion of car parks, roads and drains | 5% |
| Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) | 25% |
| Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) | 15% |
Price tells you the sticker; income tells you whether the bank will lend. The gate is the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), which caps all your monthly debt repayments at 55% of gross monthly income. The catch most buyers miss is the rate the bank tests you at. MAS makes lenders size your loan against a medium-term interest rate floor of 4% a year for private property, even when your actual package is nearer 3%. So the income you need is set by a payment you will probably never make.
Work it through for the $2 million case. The $1.5 million loan stress-tested at 4% over 30 years comes to about $7,161 a month. For that single repayment to sit inside the 55% cap with no other debt, you need a gross household income of roughly $13,000 a month, or about $156,000 a year. Carry a $1,000-a-month car loan or a personal loan on top and the income needed climbs to around $14,800 a month, because the car eats into the same 55%. A working couple can pool incomes to clear the bar, which is why most condo buyers buy as a pair.
Variable pay counts for less than salary. Banks haircut bonus, commission and rental income by 30% before it goes into the TDSR sum, so a $10,000 salary supports a bigger loan than a $10,000 income made up of commissions. Note that TDSR, not the Mortgage Servicing Ratio, applies to a private condo: the 30% MSR ceiling is an HDB and Executive Condominium rule, not a private one. You can pressure-test your own number on the mortgage calculator or check your headroom with the personal budget tool before you talk to a banker.
| Condo price | Loan (75%) | Stress-test payment at 4% | Min gross income (no other debt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 | $1,125,000 | ~$5,371/month | ~$9,800/month |
| $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | ~$7,161/month | ~$13,000/month |
| $2,500,000 | $1,875,000 | ~$8,951/month | ~$16,300/month |
Once you own the condo, the mortgage is the big recurring number. A $1.5 million loan over 30 years at a 3.5% fixed-equivalent rate works out to roughly $6,735 a month. At 4% it is about $7,160; at 3% about $6,325. Rates moved off the 2023 to 2024 highs, so quotes in 2026 sit nearer the 3% to 3.5% band, but stress-test your budget at a higher rate because packages reprice after the lock-in. The maths of compounding cuts both ways on a loan this size.
The monthly figure hides how much interest the loan actually costs over its life. That same $1.5 million loan at 3.5% over 30 years repays about $2.42 million in total, of which roughly $925,000 is pure interest. Drop the rate to 3% and lifetime interest falls to about $777,000; let it drift to 4% and it climbs past $1 million. A shorter tenure or extra principal payments cut that interest hard, which is the case for not borrowing the maximum simply because the bank allows it. Compare loan packages in the fixed vs floating mortgage guide before you lock in.
Maintenance fees (the MCST or management fee) are the cost unique to condo living. They run $300 to $700 a month for a typical suburban unit, and past $1,000 for large units in luxury developments with multiple pools, concierge and sky gardens. The fee is set by share value, not floor area, and it has been creeping up because of higher utility tariffs, GST at 9%, and Progressive Wage Model raises for security and cleaning staff. A smaller unit in a high-facility condo can pay more than a bigger unit in a no-frills one.
The rest of the monthly bill looks like any home: utilities of $150 to $300 depending on aircon use, home and mortgage-reducing insurance, internet, and your own living costs. The TDSR rule caps total debt repayments at 55% of gross monthly income, so on a $1,500-a-month car loan and a $6,735 mortgage you need to earn enough that the two together stay under that ceiling. Run the full picture through a personal budget before committing.
Property tax is an annual cost owners forget until the bill lands. IRAS charges it on the Annual Value (AV) of the property, which is the estimated yearly rent the place could fetch, not its sale price. For a condo you live in yourself, the owner-occupier rates apply and they are progressive: the first $12,000 of AV is tax-free, then the rate steps up through bands to a top of 32% for AV above $140,000. Most ordinary condos sit in the lower bands.
Numbers make it concrete. A condo with an AV of $40,000 (a realistic figure for a mid-market unit) pays $0 on the first $12,000 and 4% on the next $28,000, which is $1,120 for the year. An AV of $60,000 pays that $1,120 plus 6% on the next $10,000 plus 10% on the following $10,000, totalling $2,720. Higher-value city units climb fast because of the steep upper bands. You can check your own AV on IRAS's myTax Portal and trace the working with the annual value explainer.
For 2026 the Government granted a one-off property tax rebate of 10% for owner-occupied private residential properties, capped at $500. If you rent the condo out instead of living in it, the far higher non-owner-occupier rates apply: 12% on the first $30,000 of AV, rising to 36% above $60,000, which is the cost most aspiring landlords underestimate.
| Annual Value band | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| First $12,000 | 0% |
| Next $28,000 | 4% |
| Next $10,000 | 6% |
| Next $25,000 | 10% |
| Next $10,000 | 14% |
| Next $15,000 | 20% |
| Next $40,000 | 26% |
| Above $140,000 | 32% |
What it costs to leave a condo matters as much as what it costs to enter, especially if your plans might change. Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) hits you if you sell a residential property too soon after buying it. The rules tightened in July 2025: for any residential property bought on or after 4 July 2025, the holding period is four years (up from three) and each rate tier is four points higher.
Under the current rules, sell within the first year and SSD is 16% of the price or market value, whichever is higher. Sell in the second year it is 12%, the third year 8%, the fourth year 4%, and after holding for more than four years there is no SSD. On a $2 million condo, selling in year one would cost $320,000 in SSD alone, which wipes out any short-term gain. Treat a condo as at least a four-year hold, and realistically longer once you factor in agent fees and the BSD you already paid.
Selling agent commission is typically 2% of the sale price plus GST, so about $43,600 on a $2 million sale at 9% GST. Between SSD risk, commission and the BSD sunk at purchase, the round-trip transaction cost of a condo is heavy. That is the strongest argument for buying only when you expect to stay put, and for running the numbers in a rent-vs-buy calculator if your horizon is short.
| Sold within | SSD rate |
|---|---|
| 1st year | 16% |
| 2nd year | 12% |
| 3rd year | 8% |
| 4th year | 4% |
| More than 4 years | 0% |
Strip away the brochure and a condo is affordable if three things line up: you have the cash, the monthly bill fits your income, and you have a buffer left over. A rough rule many planners use is that your property should cost no more than about five times your annual household income, though Singapore's prices push that higher for most buyers.
Work it backwards from the monthly cost. If the all-in housing run rate is $7,800 and you want housing to stay around 30% of take-home pay, the household needs to bring home roughly $26,000 a month after CPF, which is a high bar. Many buyers run housing closer to 35% to 40%, which is workable but leaves less room to save and invest. The danger zone is buying at the top of what TDSR allows, because that maxes your debt and any rate rise or income dip becomes a crisis.
Keep an emergency buffer of six to twelve months of mortgage and expenses untouched after you pay the downpayment. Draining your savings to buy a bigger unit is the most common avoidable mistake, since the emergency fund is exactly what protects the home if your income stops. A smaller condo you can comfortably carry beats a larger one that owns you.
For a first property on a 75% bank loan, the minimum cash is 5% of the price, so $100,000 on a $2 million condo, plus Buyer's Stamp Duty of $69,600 if your CPF cannot cover it. That is about $169,600 in cash at minimum. The further 20% downpayment ($400,000) can come from your CPF Ordinary Account or cash.
The median private condo transacted at about $1,875,000 in 2026 and the average around $2,128,000, at roughly $2,124 per square foot. Suburban (OCR) resale units are the cheapest at around $1,545 psf, while prime city new launches run past $3,000 psf.
A Singapore Citizen buying their first and only residential property pays no ABSD. Permanent Residents pay 5% on a first home, and foreigners pay 60% on any purchase. If you already own an HDB flat or another property and buy a condo, a citizen owes 20% ABSD unless you sell the existing property or restructure ownership first.
Typical suburban condos charge $300 to $700 a month in maintenance (MCST) fees, set by the unit's share value rather than floor area. Large units and luxury developments with multiple pools, gyms and concierge can exceed $1,000 a month. Fees have risen with higher utility costs, 9% GST and wage increases for estate staff.
On a $2 million condo with a $1.5 million 30-year loan at about 3.5%, the mortgage is roughly $6,735 a month. Add maintenance of about $500, property tax of $200 to $400 a month equivalent, and $400 in utilities, insurance and internet, and the all-in housing cost is roughly $7,800 to $8,000 a month before personal living expenses.
Property tax is charged on the Annual Value (estimated annual rent), not the sale price. For an owner-occupied condo the first $12,000 of AV is tax-free, then 4% on the next $28,000 and higher rates above. A condo with an AV of $40,000 pays $1,120 a year; at $60,000 AV it is $2,720. A one-off 10% rebate (capped at $500) applies for 2026.
An HDB flat is far cheaper to buy and run. A 4- or 5-room resale flat costs a fraction of the $1.88 million median condo, has no maintenance fee on the same scale, and lower property tax. A condo buys you facilities, no minimum occupation period for renting out, and usually a freehold or 99-year private title. Whether the premium is worth it is a money decision you can size up with the HDB vs condo comparison.
For a $2 million condo on a 75% loan, you need a gross household income of roughly $13,000 a month, or about $156,000 a year, with no other debt. That is because MAS makes banks size your loan at a 4% stress-test rate and cap all debt repayments at 55% of income under TDSR. A $1.5 million condo needs closer to $9,800 a month, and a $2.5 million unit about $16,300. Existing car or personal loans raise the bar dollar for dollar.
A $1.5 million loan over 30 years at 3.5% repays about $2.42 million in total, of which roughly $925,000 is interest. At 3% the interest is about $777,000; at 4% it tops $1 million. A shorter tenure or extra principal payments cut the interest sharply, which is why borrowing the full amount the bank allows is rarely the cheapest path.
A new launch under construction uses the Progressive Payment Scheme: 5% cash at booking, 15% on signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement within about eight weeks, and the remaining 80% drawn from your loan in stages as the building is completed over three to four years. You pay interest only on what has been disbursed, so the mortgage starts small and grows. A resale completes in months and you draw the full loan and pay the full mortgage straight away.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.