Frequently Asked Questions

Your maximum HDB affordability is determined by two key rules: the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) caps your monthly home loan repayment at 30% of your gross monthly income, and the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) caps all monthly debt repayments at 55% of your gross income. The lower of these two limits determines your maximum monthly instalment.

From there, the loan tenure (for an HDB loan, the shortest of 25 years, 65 minus the average age of the applicants, and the remaining lease minus 20 years; for a bank loan on an HDB flat, up to 30 years) and the interest rate determine your maximum loan amount. Your target flat price is this loan plus your downpayment (cash and CPF) plus any eligible CPF grants.

Use our free affordability calculator for a personalised estimate in seconds.

The HDB concessionary loan interest rate is 2.6% per annum, pegged at 0.1% above the CPF Ordinary Account interest rate. It is not a fixed rate: it is reviewed every quarter and moves only if the CPF Ordinary Account rate moves, so it does not track market rates the way a floating bank loan does.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer — it depends on your priorities:

• HDB loan: 2.6%, pegged at 0.1% above the CPF OA rate and reviewed quarterly, no lock-in period, no minimum cash downpayment (it can be paid entirely from CPF), 75% LTV. Best for buyers who value certainty and want to minimise upfront cash.
• Bank loan: Rates vary between banks and may change with market conditions (HDB). MAS requires banks to size your loan at the higher of a 4% floor and the package’s later rate, you need 5% cash downpayment (75% LTV), and the lock-in period differs by loan package. The 75% limit drops to 55%, with at least 10% in cash, if the tenure exceeds 30 years (25 years for an HDB flat) or the loan runs past age 65. Best if you are comfortable with rate risk and want potentially lower overall cost.

You can start with a bank loan and refinance later. However, once you take a bank loan, you cannot switch back to an HDB loan. Choose carefully.

The Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) limits your monthly home loan repayment to 30% of your gross monthly household income. This applies to all HDB flats whether you use an HDB or bank loan. If your income is $7,000 per month, your maximum monthly mortgage payment under MSR is $2,100. This is usually the tighter constraint than TDSR unless you have significant other debts.

HDB caps the repayment period at the shortest of 25 years, 65 minus the average age of the applicants, and the flat’s remaining lease minus 20 years. For example, if the buyers’ average age is 45, the maximum tenure is 20 years (65 − 45); on a flat with 40 years of lease left it is also 20 years (40 − 20). For a bank loan on an HDB flat the maximum is 30 years, but the 75% LTV holds only up to 25 years and only if the loan ends by age 65; joint borrowers are assessed at their income-weighted average age. A shorter tenure means higher monthly instalments, which reduces your maximum loan amount under MSR and TDSR limits.

Yes, Permanent Residents (PRs) can buy resale HDB flats, but with conditions:

• You must have held PR status for at least 3 years.
• You must form an eligible household (e.g., family nucleus with another PR or SC).
• PRs can only use bank loans — they are not eligible for the HDB concessionary loan.
• PR households are generally not eligible for the EHG. SC/PR mixed households buying resale can receive a reduced CPF Housing Grant.

PRs cannot apply for BTO flats directly. Check your eligibility with our CPF Grant Checker.

Yes, single Singapore Citizens aged 35 and above can buy an HDB flat:

• New flats from HDB: Singles can apply for 2-room Flexi flats at HDB sales launches.
• Resale flats: Singles can buy unclassified, Standard or Plus flats of any flat type except 3Gen, and 2-room Flexi Prime flats.
• Singles may qualify for the EHG (up to $60,000, income ceiling $4,500), the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats and the Proximity Housing Grant. HDB puts the whole singles stack at up to $115,000 on a resale flat.
• Singles can use either the HDB concessionary loan or a bank loan.

No. Foreigners (non-citizens, non-PRs) cannot buy HDB flats at all. They are restricted to private residential property such as condominiums, and may be subject to the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 60% for foreign buyers as of 2026.

There are four main CPF housing grants available in 2026:

1. Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG): Up to $120,000 for families and $60,000 for singles. Available for BTO and resale. Income ceiling: $9,000 (families) or $4,500 (singles).
2. CPF Housing Grant: Up to $80,000 for families and $40,000 for singles. Resale purchases only.
3. Proximity Housing Grant: Up to $30,000 for families and $15,000 for singles who live with, or within 4km of, their parents or married child.
4. Step-Up CPF Housing Grant: $15,000 for second-timer families, when the flat being bought is a 2- or 3-room flat, new or resale. Income ceiling $8,000.

Use our CPF Grant Checker to see exactly what you qualify for in under a minute, or read every Singapore HDB government grant amount in 2026 in one table.

Each grant has its own page: the HDB Enhanced CPF Housing Grant amount in 2026, CPF Housing Grant eligibility and amounts in 2026, how to check the Proximity Housing Grant 4km rule, the Step-Up CPF Housing Grant 2026, and HDB grants for singles in 2026.

The key income ceilings for 2026:

• EHG: $9,000/month for families, $4,500/month for singles.
• CPF Housing Grant (resale): $16,000/month for families, $8,000/month for singles.
• BTO flat and HDB loan eligibility: $16,000/month for families, $8,000/month for singles. For a family buying a new flat, the family ceiling applies to 4- and 5-room flats; 2-room Flexi flats and some 3-room projects carry a lower one, which HDB states in each launch.
• EC (Executive Condominium): $18,000/month for new units in ECs whose land sale tender closed on or after 24 August 2026; $16,000/month for existing ECs and those tendered earlier.

The EHG uses a sliding scale — the lower your income, the higher your grant, up to the maximum amounts.

The HDB ceilings apply to HFE letter applications made from 24 August 2026, when HDB raised them. Sources and verification dates are listed at the foot of this page.

Not directly. But when you sell your flat, the grant amount (with accrued CPF interest) goes back into your CPF Ordinary Account. This protects your retirement savings. You can use the refunded amount for your next property purchase. This is standard CPF policy — all CPF monies used for housing (including grants) must be refunded with interest upon sale.

The Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) provides up to $30,000 for families and $15,000 for singles who buy a resale flat to live with their parents or married child, or $20,000 for families and $10,000 for singles who live within 4km of them. This grant encourages multi-generational support and is available only for resale purchases.

The resale levy is a fee you must pay when you buy a second subsidised HDB flat (BTO or Sale of Balance) after having previously bought a subsidised flat. The levy amount depends on the flat type you first bought:

The levy is payable in cash or CPF. If your second purchase is a resale flat (which is not directly subsidised by HDB), you do not pay the resale levy. The levy ensures that multiple rounds of housing subsidies are distributed fairly.

Build-To-Order (BTO) flats are new, directly from HDB, priced below market, and you wait for them to be built: HDB reports a median wait of about four years for the flats it completed in 2025, and its Shorter Waiting Time flats come with waits of less than three years. You must ballot and may not get a queue number. Resale flats are existing flats sold by current owners. They are more expensive but you can move in sooner, have more location and size choices, and may qualify for more grants: the CPF Housing Grant and the Proximity Housing Grant are for resale flats only.

Wait times: HDB’s 7 January 2026 release on its 2026 BTO supply. The wait for a specific project is in HDB’s sales-launch materials for it.

If you face financial difficulty, HDB offers several options: deferment or reduction of instalments, extension of loan tenure, or financial counselling. In the worst case, HDB can repossess the flat, but this is a last resort and usually only happens after multiple attempts to help the homeowner. If you're struggling, contact HDB early — they are generally willing to work with you. Bank loans are less flexible, and repossession may happen faster.