To determine your mortgage eligibility in Singapore, you need to check three things in order: how much you can borrow under MAS rules (TDSR and MSR), how much the banks will actually lend you based on income, age and credit profile, and whether the monthly instalments fit your real budget after comparing bank rates. Homejourney makes this safer and easier by letting you calculate your eligibility, compare bank rates from DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered and more, and submit one Singpass-enabled application across multiple banks via Bank Rates .
This article is a focused cluster in our broader Homejourney mortgage pillar: it zooms in on how to determine your mortgage eligibility and how to use bank rate comparisons wisely. For a complete step-by-step overview of eligibility, documents and approval, you can also refer to our main guide: Mortgage Eligibility in Singapore: Practical Guide with Homejourney Tools .
What “mortgage eligibility Singapore” really means
In Singapore, home loan eligibility is shaped by both government regulations and each bank’s own credit policies. The key regulators are the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and, for public housing, HDB. MAS sets the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), while HDB also applies the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) for HDB flats and new ECs.[6]
In plain terms, mortgage eligibility Singapore answers four questions:
- Can you legally borrow, and up to how much, under MAS TDSR and (if applicable) HDB MSR limits?
- Will specific banks (DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank, CIMB, RHB, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Citibank) approve your profile?
- Does your age and chosen tenure fit within MAS and bank rules?
- At current bank rates, are the monthly instalments realistically affordable for you?
On the ground, buyers often first ask, “Am I eligible for mortgage for a 3-room HDB in Punggol or a new launch condo near Lentor MRT?” The process is the same whether you’re eyeing a S$650,000 resale HDB in Sengkang or a S$1.7 million new launch in Tampines: run the numbers on your income and debts, then compare rates and packages via a safe tool like Homejourney’s Mortgage Rates .
Key mortgage eligibility rules in Singapore (TDSR, MSR, age & tenure)
To qualify for mortgage financing safely, you should understand these core rules before you even shortlist units on Property Search .
1. Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) – applies to all property loans
TDSR caps your total monthly debt obligations at 55% of your gross monthly income for all property loans in Singapore.[6] This includes:
- New mortgage instalment
- Existing home loans (local and overseas)
- Car loans
- Personal loans and education loans
- Credit card minimum payments
MAS also requires banks to assess TDSR using a medium-term interest rate floor (currently around 4% p.a. for housing loans), not just the promotional rate you see in ads.[6] This is why the instalment used for eligibility checks can be higher than what you see on the bank’s marketing flyer.
2. Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) – for HDB and EC buyers
If you are buying an HDB flat or a new Executive Condominium, there is an additional MSR limit: your total property loan instalments cannot exceed 30% of your gross monthly income.[6][7] This MSR rule applies on top of TDSR.
For example, if your gross monthly income is S$7,000, your maximum MSR-based instalment is S$2,100. Even if your TDSR appears comfortable, MSR can be the binding limit for HDB buyers.
3. Age and loan tenure limits
For most bank loans to individuals, the standard maximum loan tenure is:
- Up to 30 years for HDB flats
- Up to 35 years for private residential properties
Banks also require that the loan tenure does not usually extend beyond a certain age (often around 65–75, depending on bank policy). If you’re 45 and buying a condo in Hougang, a 30-year tenure may be accepted, but a 35-year tenure could trigger tighter loan-to-value or additional conditions.
4. Employment type, variable income and credit profile
Banks treat different sources of income differently when assessing home loan eligibility:
- Fixed salaried employees: Banks like DBS, OCBC and UOB usually take 100% of your monthly basic income plus a conservative portion of allowances (e.g. 70% of transport/shift allowances), based on your latest payslips and 12 months CPF contribution history.[4]
- Self-employed or commission-based: MAS guidelines and banks commonly apply a 30% haircut on variable income (only 70% is counted) and may require at least two years of Notice of Assessment from IRAS.[2]
- Credit score: A clean repayment history on credit cards and loans is critical. Frequent late payments, high utilisation or recent defaults can lead to lower approved amounts or outright rejection.
Your credit report from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) and your IRAS, CPF and HDB records are often checked electronically, especially when using Singpass/MyInfo. Homejourney’s application flow via Bank Rates securely taps on MyInfo so banks can verify your data quickly and accurately, reducing errors that might otherwise delay or derail approval.
How bank interest rates affect what you can borrow
While TDSR is stress-tested at a fixed floor rate, your actual monthly instalment depends on the package you choose: fixed rate vs SORA-pegged floating rate, and the margin each bank charges. As of early 2026, typical owner-occupied home loan rates from major banks cluster around the low-to-mid 2% range for promotional packages, while the stress-test rate used for TDSR is around 4%.[2]
In practical terms, a lower rate today means a lower monthly instalment, which can help you stay comfortable within TDSR and MSR limits. But because MAS uses a higher stress-test rate, you should never stretch your budget just because a bank offers a temporary teaser rate. Homejourney’s Bank Rates page lets you see SORA-based and fixed packages from DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered and other banks side by side, so you can focus on total cost and long-term affordability rather than just headline rates.
The chart below shows recent interest rate trends in Singapore:
By tracking live 3M and 6M SORA trends via Homejourney’s real-time monitoring on Bank Rates , you can better judge when it may be prudent to lock in a fixed package versus staying on a floating rate, especially if you’re sensitive to monthly instalment swings.
Step-by-step: How to determine your mortgage eligibility
Here is a simple, safe framework you can use before you commit to any Option to Purchase (OTP), whether you’re viewing a 4-room HDB in Bukit Panjang or a 2-bedder condo in Queenstown.
Step 1: Calculate your usable income
Start by listing all your income sources. For a typical salaried buyer working in Raffles Place, this might be:
- Basic salary: S$6,500
- Transport allowance: S$300
- Occasional bonuses (ignore for conservative estimates)
For a conservative bank-style calculation, you might count 100% of basic and 70% of regular allowances:
Usable income ≈ S$6,500 + (70% × S$300) = S$6,710 per month.
If you are self-employed (e.g. running a design studio in Tai Seng), you’ll use your average monthly income based on the last two years IRAS Notices of Assessment, then apply a 30% haircut. For instance, if your average is S$10,000/month, banks may only count S$7,000 for eligibility.[2]
Step 2: Apply TDSR and MSR limits
Using the usable income from above (S$6,710):
- Max TDSR instalment (55%): S$3,690.50
