For HDB owners clearing MOP and weighing the move to private property: the MCST governance lens most agents only bring up after you've signed, not before.
Free Singapore new launch cost calculator, model your total purchase cost, stamp duty, TDSR headroom and down payment requirements before stepping into a showflat.
Resale condos are 20 to 30% cheaper per psf than new launches, but that gap comes with real trade-offs. Here's what 14,622 resale transactions in 2025 tell us about who should buy resale and who shouldn't.
Integrated developments cost more at launch and charge two maintenance funds, one for the Main MC, one for the Residential Sub MC. Here's the full picture: what you actually pay, what the resale data shows, and when the premium makes financial sense.
Before viewing a single showflat, you need four numbers: your maximum loan quantum under TDSR and LTV rules, your required down payment in cash and CPF, your stamp duty liability (BSD always, ABSD if applicable), and your total cash outlay at signing.
For HDB upgraders, renting is usually a bridge, not a lifestyle choice, driven by BTO/new-launch construction delays, the 15-month wait-out period rules for private property buyers, or simple market hesitation.
A $30,000 housing grant on a $1.3M EC is 2.3% of your purchase price, locked up for 8 years. Here's the honest comparison every EC buyer should make before signing the OTP.
ABSD on a second property is 20% for Singapore Citizens, charged on the full purchase price, not just the amount above a threshold. On a $2.1M second property that's $420,000 plus BSD, totalling roughly $456,600 upfront.
Upper Thomson and Lentor both price in the same OCR band, roughly $2,100-$2,300 psf for typical units, on similar land costs ($905 psf ppr for Springleaf vs $920 for Lentor Gardens).
