To determine your mortgage eligibility in Singapore, you need to assess your income, existing debts, age, property type, and credit profile against MAS rules like the 55% Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and, for HDB/EC, the 30% Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), then compare bank rates and calculate your maximum loan amount before committing to any property purchase.
Homejourney simplifies this process with an integrated mortgage eligibility calculator, real-time bank rate comparison, and a secure multi-bank application flow using Singpass/MyInfo so you can make confident, well‑informed decisions.
This article is a focused cluster guide under Homejourney’s main mortgage pillar, "How to Determine Your Mortgage Eligibility in Singapore with Homejourney" How to Determine Your Mortgage Eligibility in Singapore with Homejourney . Here, we zoom in on two things Singapore buyers care about most: eligibility rules and bank rate comparison, so you can safely match the right loan to your real borrowing power.
What does mortgage eligibility mean in Singapore?
Mortgage eligibility Singapore refers to how much you are allowed to borrow and whether you qualify for a home loan at all, based on Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) rules and each bank’s internal criteria.
For most buyers, your eligibility is determined by five main factors:
- Income and employment type (fixed, variable, self-employed)
- Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) – capped at 55% of gross monthly income for all property loans regulated by MAS[1][6]
- Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) – capped at 30% of gross monthly income for HDB and new EC purchases[1][7]
- Age and loan tenure – typically up to age 65, subject to MAS rules on maximum tenure[1][5]
- Credit history and existing loans (car, personal, education, credit cards)
Bank home loans from DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank, CIMB, RHB, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank, and Citibank all follow MAS regulations, but each bank may have its own minimum loan amounts, stress test rates, and credit policies[4][8].
Key requirements to qualify for a mortgage in Singapore
1. Income requirements and how banks view your earnings
From experience working with borrowers across areas like Punggol, Tampines, and Queenstown, income type is one of the biggest sources of confusion. Two buyers earning the same annual amount can end up with different borrowing limits because banks recognise their income differently.
Broadly, banks will look at:
- Fixed salaried income – Usually 100% of your basic salary is counted. Allowances may be haircut (e.g. 70–80%) or ignored, depending on consistency.
- Variable income (commissions/bonuses/OT) – Typically averaged over 12 months and then haircut (commonly to 60–70%) to reflect volatility[1].
- Self-employed / business owners – Banks often require the last 2 years’ Notice of Assessment and may use the lower of the two years, possibly with a haircut to be conservative.
When you apply through Homejourney using Singpass/MyInfo on the bank rates page Bank Rates , your IRAS income data is auto-pulled securely, reducing errors and helping banks assess your eligibility more accurately.
2. TDSR: The 55% cap that applies to all housing loans
The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) is a nationwide rule set by MAS: your total monthly debt repayments (including the new housing loan) cannot exceed 55% of your gross monthly income[1][6]. This applies to all property loans, including private and HDB properties, whether for own-stay or investment.
TDSR formula (simplified):
\( \text{TDSR} = \frac{\text{All monthly debt repayments (including new mortgage)}}{\text{Gross monthly income}} \times 100\% \)
What counts as monthly debt?
- Existing home loans
- Car loans
- Personal loans / renovation loans
- Education loans
- Credit cards – usually calculated based on 3% of outstanding balance or a minimum amount[1]
Homejourney’s built-in TDSR/MSR calculator on the bank rates page Mortgage Rates automatically includes these items when you key them in, so you do not have to guess.
3. MSR: Extra 30% rule for HDB and EC buyers
If you are buying an HDB flat or a new Executive Condominium (EC), you must also meet the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) requirement. MSR limits your monthly property loan instalments to 30% of your gross monthly income[1][7].
This is on top of TDSR, so for an HDB buyer in areas like Sengkang or Jurong, the more restrictive of the two (TDSR 55% vs MSR 30%) will cap your loan.
4. Age, loan tenure, and Income-Weighted Average Age (IWAA)
In Singapore, the maximum housing loan tenure depends on both your age and property type. For bank loans, MAS guidelines generally limit tenure to:
- Up to 30 years for HDB flats
- Up to 35 years for private residential property, but tenure beyond age 65 or beyond 30/25 years may reduce your maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio[5]
For joint borrowers (e.g. a couple buying a 4-room resale in Ang Mo Kio), banks use an Income-Weighted Average Age (IWAA) to determine the effective age, giving more weight to the higher earner[1]. This affects how long you can stretch your tenure and therefore your monthly instalment.
5. Credit history and employment stability
While MAS sets the framework, each bank will still look at:
- Your credit score and repayment history from the Credit Bureau
- Number of recent credit applications
- Job stability – length of time with current employer (typically at least 3–6 months for salaried, longer track record for self-employed)
A clean record and stable employment can often make the difference between borderline approval and rejection, especially for those close to the TDSR or MSR limits.
Mortgage calculation examples: How much can you actually borrow?
To make this practical, let’s walk through scenarios similar to what we see daily from Homejourney users shopping for homes in areas like Tengah, Clementi, and Hougang. These examples are simplified and use rounded numbers; your exact figures will depend on stress test rates, income recognition, and bank policies. Use Homejourney’s calculator Mortgage Rates for a precise, real-time check.
Example 1: First-time HDB buyer with no other loans
Profile:
- Age: 30
- Gross monthly income: S$6,000 (fixed salary)
- No car loan, no personal loan, no credit card debt
- Buying a 4-room HDB in Punggol for S$600,000
Step 1 – Check MSR
30% of S$6,000 = S$1,800. This is the maximum monthly instalment allowed for the HDB loan under MSR[1][7].
Step 2 – Check TDSR
55% of S$6,000 = S$3,300. Since there are no other loans, the entire S$3,300 could, in theory, go to the mortgage[1][6]. But because this is an HDB, the stricter MSR of S$1,800 applies.
Step 3 – Estimate maximum loan
Assume a 25-year tenure and an interest rate of 3.5% p.a. (typical stress test rate banks use for prudence). A monthly instalment of around S$1,800 corresponds to an approximate loan size of about S$380,000–S$400,000. The shortfall from the S$600,000 price must be covered by CPF and/or cash.
Example 2: Private condo upgrader with existing car loan
Profile:
