For a first private condo in Singapore in 2026, the condo down payment is 25% of the purchase price, and at least 5% of that must be paid in hard cash that CPF cannot touch. On a $2 million condo, that is $100,000 in cash plus another $400,000 from cash or your CPF Ordinary Account, before you even reach Buyer's Stamp Duty. The figure swings hard the moment you stretch the loan past 30 years, already own a property, or buy a second home, and most buyers who get caught short do so because they planned around the 25% headline and forgot the cash-only floor underneath it.
The starting point is the Loan-to-Value limit, the share of the price a bank is allowed to lend you. The Monetary Authority of Singapore caps a bank loan on your first property at 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower, when the tenure is 30 years or less and ends by age 65. That leaves a 25% down payment.
The 25% is not one undifferentiated lump. The first 5% has to be cash, and the next 20% can come from cash, your CPF Ordinary Account, or any mix of the two. The cash 5% is the rule that trips people up, because it is the one component CPF, parents' CPF, or a personal loan cannot legally cover.
| Component | Share of price | Can it be CPF? |
|---|---|---|
| Bank loan | 75% | n/a (borrowed) |
| Minimum cash down payment | 5% | No, cash only |
| Balance down payment | 20% | Yes, CPF OA or cash |
| Total upfront (excl. stamp duty) | 25% | Mixed |
The cash 5% exists because the law treats it as your real skin in the game, money no scheme can lend or refund away. It is computed on the lower of price or valuation, so if you overpay above a property's market value, the gap on top is also cash-only.
A buyer with a flush CPF Ordinary Account can sometimes cover the entire 20% balance from CPF, which is why so many condo buyers obsess over their OA balance. But the 5% never moves. On a $1.5 million condo that is $75,000; on a $2.5 million condo it is $125,000. Knowing your loan-to-value ratio tells you the loan size, but the cash floor tells you whether you can actually transact.
If a longer loan or a second property pulls your LTV down, the cash-only portion rises to 25% of the price, not 5%. That single shift is the difference between a $100,000 and a $500,000 cash cheque on a $2 million home.
The 75% LTV is the best case. It drops in three situations: when your loan runs longer than 30 years or past your 65th birthday, when you already hold one outstanding home loan, and when you hold two or more. Each step pushes more of the purchase price into cash, and from the second loan onward the cash-only floor jumps from 5% to 25%.
Run the monthly repayment against tenure on the mortgage calculator before you commit, because the tenure that keeps you at 75% LTV is also the one that raises your monthly instalment.
| Situation | Max bank loan (LTV) | Total down payment | Minimum cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| First loan, tenure 30yrs or less, ends by 65 | 75% | 25% | 5% |
| First loan, tenure over 30yrs or past age 65 | 55% | 45% | 10% |
| One outstanding home loan | 45% | 55% | 25% |
| Two or more outstanding home loans | 35% | 65% | 25% |
CPF Ordinary Account savings can fund the 20% balance of the down payment and can also be used to pay Buyer's Stamp Duty, with CPF reimbursing you after the cash is paid first. What CPF cannot do is cover the 5% cash floor or the option fee, both of which leave your bank account.
Draining your CPF Ordinary Account for the down payment is not free money. Every dollar you withdraw stops earning the 2.5% OA interest and has to be returned with accrued interest if you sell, which quietly eats into your sale proceeds. Some buyers deliberately keep cash in the down payment and CPF in the account so the OA keeps compounding.
The CPF Board confirms the OA can be tapped for the down payment of a private property only after the minimum cash portion is settled, and only up to the Valuation Limit for the property. Plan around your real OA balance, not your gross CPF, since your Special and Retirement Account savings are off-limits for this.
Buyer's Stamp Duty is charged on the higher of price or market value and rises on a sliding scale. It is separate from the down payment and is one of the most common reasons a buyer ends up short, because the 25% they saved was the down payment alone. CPF can reimburse the BSD, but it has to reach IRAS within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase, so the cash usually goes out first.
Work out your exact figure on the stamp duty calculator. The bands below apply to every residential buyer in 2026.
| Portion of price or 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% |
You do not write one cheque. The down payment is spread across the buying timeline, and the sequence differs between a resale condo and a new launch. The cash 5% appears early, in the option and exercise stages, which is why the cash floor bites before you have arranged the bank loan.
Saving the down payment is only half the test. The bank also applies the Total Debt Servicing Ratio, which caps all your monthly debt repayments, including the new mortgage, car loans and credit lines, at 55% of your gross monthly income. Even if you clear the 25% down payment, a thin TDSR can shrink the loan the bank will actually grant, forcing you to find more cash.
Because the condo loan is constrained by TDSR rather than the Mortgage Servicing Ratio that limits HDB loans, a condo can in theory let you borrow a larger share of income, but the 55% wall still decides the ceiling. If you are weighing the move up from a flat, the HDB versus condo comparison lays the trade-offs side by side.
Take a first-time buyer, Singaporean, 35, buying a $2 million resale condo with a 30-year loan ending well before 65. They qualify for the full 75% LTV.
| Item | Amount | Cash or CPF |
|---|---|---|
| Bank loan (75%) | $1,500,000 | Borrowed |
| Minimum cash down payment (5%) | $100,000 | Cash only |
| Balance down payment (20%) | $400,000 | Cash or CPF OA |
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | $69,600 | Cash first, CPF can reimburse |
| Total upfront | $569,600 | Plus legal and valuation fees |
At least 5% of the purchase price must be paid in cash on a first property at 75% LTV. On a $1.5 million condo that is $75,000, and on a $2 million condo it is $100,000. The remaining 20% of the down payment can come from cash or your CPF Ordinary Account.
No. The minimum 5% cash portion and the option fee cannot be paid with CPF. Only the remaining 20% balance of the down payment can be drawn from your CPF Ordinary Account, up to the property's Valuation Limit, and CPF can also reimburse your Buyer's Stamp Duty after you pay it in cash.
The 25% applies only at the 75% LTV, which needs a loan of 30 years or less ending by age 65 on your first property. Stretching the tenure drops LTV to 55%, and already holding one home loan drops it to 45% with a 25% cash floor, so the upfront cash can rise sharply.
No, they are two separate bills. The down payment is 25% of the price at 75% LTV, while Buyer's Stamp Duty is a tax on top, ranging from 1% up to 6% on a sliding scale. On a $2 million condo the BSD alone is $69,600, which is why budgeting for the down payment alone leaves many buyers short.
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.