Best Time to Refinance HDB & Private Properties in 2025 | Homejourney

The best time to refinance HDB & private properties in 2025 is typically 3–6 months before your lock-in period ends, when bank rates are at or near cycle lows, and your projected interest savings clearly exceed your refinancing costs within 1–2 years.

In 2025, with Singapore home loan rates at their lowest in about three years and SORA back near 1.3–1.4%, many owners in towns like Punggol, Tampines, and Queenstown are seeing substantial monthly savings by refinancing, especially if their current rates are above 2.3–2.5%.[2][6][7]

How this refinancing guide fits into Homejourney’s pillar content

This article is a focused cluster within Homejourney’s comprehensive Singapore mortgage pillar guide on home loans and refinancing .

Use this page when you’re asking very specific questions like “Should I refinance now?”, “Is refinancing worth it?” or “What is my refinance break-even?”. For broader topics like loan types, HDB vs bank loans, and overall affordability rules (MSR, TDSR, LTV), refer back to our main mortgage pillar .

Refinancing vs repricing in Singapore: key differences

In Singapore, you’ll hear two similar terms: refinancing and repricing. They save you money in similar ways but work differently.

Refinancing: Switching your existing home loan to a different bank (e.g. from HDB loan to DBS, or from OCBC to UOB).
Repricing: Changing to a different package within the same bank (e.g. from DBS fixed to DBS SORA floating).

From lived experience working with owners in estates like Jurong West and Sengkang, the usual pattern is:

Repricing when your current bank is competitive and offers a “loyalty” package with minimal fees.
Refinancing when other banks (DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank, CIMB, RHB, Citibank, Hong Leong Bank, Public Bank) are offering significantly lower rates or bigger subsidies.

HDB specifically notes that when you refinance an HDB concessionary loan to a bank, you cannot switch back to an HDB loan for that flat later, so the timing decision is more critical for HDB owners.[1]

Refinancing fundamentals for HDB & private properties in 2025

Home loan rates in late 2025 have dropped sharply from 2023–2024 highs. Fixed-rate packages that were around 3.1% at the start of 2025 are now closer to 1.4–1.8%, and some brokers list lowest fixed rates from around 1.30–1.35% and floating from about 1M SORA + 0.25% (~1.36%).[2][4][6]

The three‑month compounded SORA has fallen to around 1.3–1.4%, the lowest in more than three years, and is expected by some market watchers to stay in this range into end‑2025.[2][7]

What this means in practice:

If you’re paying above ~2.3–2.5% now, 2025 is likely a strong window to refinance.
The largest savings are enjoyed by borrowers whose loans originated in 2022–2023 at 3–4% and whose lock-in is ending in 2025.[2][5]

Redbrick and other advisors have also noted that much of the rate decline has already occurred, so further drops may be modest.[2][6] That’s why the focus in 2025 should be on locking in sustainable savings, not trying to time the absolute bottom.

When is refinancing worth it? The refinance break-even rule

To decide if refinancing is worth it, you should compare:

Total interest savings over your expected holding period
Against total refinancing costs (legal, valuation, clawback penalties, admin fees)

A simple way to think about the refinance break-even is:

Break-even time (months) ≈ Total refinancing costs ÷ Monthly interest savings

If you expect to keep the property beyond this break-even period, refinancing is usually financially sensible.

Real example: 4-room HDB in Punggol (HDB loan → bank loan)

Imagine a typical 4-room HDB at Punggol Walk, where many flats transact around S$550k–S$650k based on recent HDB resale data Projects Directory . Say you:

Have an outstanding loan of S$400,000
Have 20 years remaining
Are currently on HDB loan at 2.6%
Can refinance to a bank loan at around 1.6%

Monthly instalments (approximate, rounded):

At 2.6% for 20 years: about S$2,140 per month
At 1.6% for 20 years: about S$1,939 per month

Monthly savings ≈ S$200 (S$2,400 per year).

Typical refinancing costs for HDB to bank:

Legal fees: ~S$1,500–S$2,000[3]
Valuation fees: ~S$200–S$300 for HDB[3]

Total cost: around S$1,700–S$2,300, often offset fully or partly by bank cash rebates.[4]

If your net cost after rebates is, say, S$500 and you save S$2,400 per year, your break-even is less than 3 months. In this scenario, refinancing is clearly worth considering, but you must also accept the trade-off of losing the HDB loan option permanently.[1]

Private condo example: 3-bedder in Pasir Ris

For a 3-bedroom condo in Pasir Ris or Bedok with an outstanding loan of S$800,000 at 3% (from a 2023 fixed package), moving to ~1.5% in 2025 could save several hundred dollars per month. Legal and valuation costs are higher (~S$2,000 + S$500+), but banks commonly offer cash rebates of S$2,000–S$2,800 for larger loans to cover most or all of this.[3][4]

This is why many East-side owners whose 2023 fixed packages just ended are actively refinancing in 2025 before rates climb again, especially those who intend to hold their condos beyond five years.

Hidden refinancing costs you must factor in

Beyond basic legal and valuation fees, refinancing comes with several less obvious costs that affect your break-even:

Lock-in penalties: If you refinance during a 2–3 year lock-in, most banks charge about 1.5% of outstanding loan as a penalty. This can easily wipe out your savings.
Clawback of subsidies: If you refinance away too soon, banks can claw back legal subsidies or cash rebates given at the start.
Conversion or repricing fees within the same bank (typically S$500–S$1,000).

For a detailed breakdown of refinancing costs, legal fees, valuation and clawback, see our dedicated guide: Refinancing Costs Breakdown: Legal Fees, Valuation & Clawback Explained | Homejourney Refinancing Costs Breakdown: Legal Fees, Valuation & Clawback Explained | Homejo... .