When deciding between refinancing vs repricing: which is better for you, the simple rule is: repricing is usually cheaper and easier if your current bank’s new package is competitive, while refinancing can deliver bigger savings and more features if another bank is offering a significantly lower rate or better terms.
For most Singapore owners, the best choice depends on your remaining loan amount, lock-in period, interest rate difference, and how long you intend to keep the property.
This article is a focused cluster within Homejourney’s wider mortgage education pillar on Singapore home loans. For a full walkthrough of how home loans work from purchase to refinancing, refer to our main guide: .
Refinancing vs Repricing: Clear Definitions in Singapore Context
In Singapore, banks and MAS use very specific meanings for these terms:
Repricing
• You stay with the same bank but switch to a new home loan package (often after your lock-in period ends).
• No change of lender, no new CPF lawyer, and no title deed transfer.
• You typically pay an admin or conversion fee (often about S$300–S$800, sometimes waived), but no legal or valuation fees in most cases.[2][3]
Refinancing
• You move your outstanding home loan to a different bank with a new package.
• You need a fresh valuation and conveyancing (legal work) because the title deed is released from your current bank and lodged with the new bank.[2][3]
• Typical legal + valuation costs are around S$2,500–S$3,000 before subsidies, though many banks offer legal subsidies or cash rebates to offset them.[2][3][5]
Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times both define refinancing as switching banks and repricing as switching to a different package within the same bank, in line with this explanation.[1][4]
Quick Decision Guide: When Refinancing or Repricing Is Usually Better
Use this as a starting rule-of-thumb before you dive into the numbers:
- Repricing is usually better if:
– Your remaining loan is below ~S$250,000 (fees for refinancing may eat most of the savings).
– Your current bank offers a rate within about 0.20–0.30% of the best market rate.
– You want minimal hassle and a faster process (repricing often completes in about 1 month vs around 2–3 months for refinancing).[2][3]
– You are still happy with your current bank’s service and bundled products (e.g. credit card, salary crediting). - Refinancing is usually better if:
– Your loan size is S$300,000 or more and your remaining tenure is at least 10 years (so savings have time to compound).
– Another bank is offering at least 0.40–0.50% lower effective rate than your current repricing package.
– You want specific features (e.g. SORA-pegged package, better partial prepayment terms, or more attractive offset account) that your current bank does not offer.[3]
– You are exiting a high-rate lock-in package taken during the 2023–2024 period and want to lock in today’s lower market rates.[1][4]
On Homejourney, you can see both repricing-equivalent offers (from your current bank) and refinancing packages from other banks side-by-side on our bank rates page: Bank Rates .
Understanding Today’s Interest Rates: SORA, Fixed and Floating
Most new bank packages in 2025–2026 are pegged either to:
• SORA (Singapore Overnight Rate Average) – a daily benchmark administered by MAS and widely used for floating-rate mortgages in Singapore.
• Fixed-rate packages – interest rate is locked in (e.g. 1.50% p.a. for 2 or 3 years), then converts to a floating or board rate.[1][2][4]
Recent reporting by The Straits Times and CNA notes that three-month SORA-based packages have fallen to around the low- to mid-1% range, the lowest in about three years, which is why more owners are refinancing from older 3–4% packages taken in 2023–2024.[1][4]
The chart below shows recent interest rate trends in Singapore:
Use Homejourney’s live SORA tracker and bank rate comparison at Bank Rates to see how DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered and others are pricing their latest SORA and fixed-rate packages.
Financial Analysis: How to Calculate Your Break-Even Point
The key question for “refinancing vs repricing: which is better for you” is: Do the interest savings exceed the fees over the period you are likely to hold the loan?
You can estimate this in four steps:
- Estimate your total refinancing or repricing costs
• Refinancing (different bank):
– Legal fees: roughly S$1,500–S$2,000 for HDB, S$1,800–S$2,000+ for private property.[3]
– Valuation fee: typically around S$200–S$400 depending on property type and bank.
– Possible redemption fee or clawback if you are still in lock-in or subsidy clawback period (often 1.5% of outstanding loan or full subsidy return; check your Letter of Offer).
– Many banks, such as DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered and others, run periodic promotions with legal subsidies and cash rebates that can offset most or all of these costs.[1][2] - Estimate your interest savings per year
Suppose you have:
• Outstanding loan: S$500,000
• Remaining tenure: 20 years
• Current rate: 3.2% p.a.
• New rate via refinancing: 1.7% p.a.
Approximate first-year interest difference:
• Old interest ≈ 500,000 × 3.2% = S$16,000
• New interest ≈ 500,000 × 1.7% = S$8,500
• Annual interest savings ≈ S$7,500 (this reduces slightly each year as principal is paid down, but is sufficient for a quick gauge). - Compute break-even period
If your total net cost to refinance (after rebates) is S$2,500:
• Break-even time ≈ 2,500 ÷ 7,500 ≈ 0.33 years, or about 4 months.
• If you plan to keep the loan for more than 1–2 years, refinancing is very likely worth it here. - Compare with repricing option
Imagine your existing bank offers repricing at 2.0% p.a. with a S$500 admin fee:
• Interest at 2.0% ≈ 500,000 × 2.0% = S$10,000
• Savings vs old rate = S$6,000 per year.
• Net first-year benefit of repricing vs staying: 6,000 – 500 = S$5,500.
• Net first-year benefit of refinancing vs staying: 7,500 – 2,500 = S$5,000.
In this scenario, repricing may be slightly better financially, with less hassle and quicker processing – even though the rate is slightly higher. This is why you must run the numbers for both.
To avoid manual calculations, use the Homejourney refinancing calculator on our bank rates page: Mortgage Rates or . We also have a detailed walkthrough in: “How to Calculate If Refinancing is Worth It | Homejourney” How to Calculate If Refinancing is Worth It | Homejourney .
Hidden Costs and Fine Print You Must Check
As someone who has helped many friends in Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines review their loan letters over kopi, the biggest surprises usually come from the fine print, not the headline rate. Pay close attention to:
- Lock-in period and penalties
• Typical lock-in is 2–3 years for fixed packages and sometimes 2 years for SORA-pegged loans.
• Breaking lock-in usually triggers a penalty of around 1.5% of the outstanding loan – this can wipe out savings, so always verify the end date of your lock-in with your bank or via your Letter of Offer.[2][3] - Clawback period for subsidies
• If your existing loan came with legal subsidies or cash rebates, there may be a clawback period (often 3 years).
• Refinancing within that period can mean repaying the subsidy amount in full; include this in your cost calculation. - Conversion / repricing fees
• Repricing fees are usually S$300–S$800, though some banks offer one-time free repricing after the first year.[2][3]
• Ask your current bank explicitly whether you have any free conversion rights before paying. - Valuation risks
• For private properties and higher-value HDBs, if the bank’s valuation comes in lower than expected, your maximum loan amount may be reduced (LTV based on valuation, not purchase price).
• This may require extra CPF or cash to make up the difference – something I have seen catch out owners in older estates like Bukit Merah where prices are uneven block to block. - Interest after lock-in
• Some packages jump sharply to a high board rate + spread after the lock-in; others roll to a more reasonable SORA + margin.
• Compare not just the teaser rate, but also what happens in year 3 or 4 – this is where Homejourney’s refinancing rates comparison for each bank package is helpful: Bank Rates .
For investors, we cover extra costs like partial prepayment limits, investment property loading and legal nuances in: “Hidden Costs of Refinancing for Investment Property Owners | Homejourney” Hidden Costs of Refinancing for Investment Property Owners | Homejourney .
Timing Your Move: When to Start Refinancing or Repricing
Based on how banks in Singapore process loans and what we see from local owners:
- Start 3–6 months before lock-in ends
• Most banks require about 2–3 months’ notice for full redemption when refinancing to another bank.[2]
• If you wait until your lock-in expires, you may be forced to pay a month or two at the higher “reversion” rate while paperwork is in progress. - Watch interest rate trends, not just headlines
• After SORA fell from the 2023 peaks, HDB and private owners refinancing in 2025–2026 saw substantial savings moving from 3–4% to the 1+% range.[1][4]
• If you took a fixed package in 2023–2024 above 3%, it is worth checking today’s offers; Straits Times reporting suggests refinancing from mid-2026 may slow because most high-rate borrowers will have already switched by then.[1] - Consider your property plans
• If you are planning to sell in the next 1–2 years (for example, upgrading from a 4-room BTO in Punggol to an EC in Sengkang), an expensive 3-year lock-in might not make sense.
• In such cases, a shorter lock-in or even a slightly higher but more flexible package may be better.
Homejourney’s real-time SORA tracking and rate alerts on Bank Rates help you decide when to lock in, especially if you are targeting the best bank refinance Singapore deals across DBS, OCBC, UOB and other top banks.
Step-by-Step: How Refinancing Works in Singapore
Here is the typical refinancing flow if you move, say, from OCBC to DBS or UOB:
- Compare rates and shortlist packages
• Use Homejourney’s refinancing rates comparison to view packages from DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank, CIMB, RHB, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank and Citibank side-by-side: Bank Rates .
• Filter by fixed vs floating, SORA vs fixed deposit-linked, lock-in period and minimum loan amount. - Check your eligibility
• Use our mortgage eligibility calculator at to estimate your maximum loan based on MAS TDSR/MSR rules, income, and existing liabilities.
• This helps you avoid surprises later, especially if you have car loans or multiple credit cards. - Prepare documents
Typical items include:
• NRIC copies (for all borrowers).
• Latest 3–6 months’ payslips and CPF contribution history (or latest Notice of Assessment for self-employed).
• CPF Property Withdrawal Statement (if CPF used for the property).
• Latest outstanding loan statement and redemption statement from your current bank.
• Option to Purchase / Sale & Purchase Agreement (if applicable).
With Singpass/MyInfo integration on Homejourney, much of this can be auto-filled when you apply via Bank Rates . - Submit one application to multiple banks
• Through Homejourney’s multi-bank application feature, you submit a single set of details and supporting documents, and let banks compete for your business instead of visiting each branch individually.
• Our partner banks’ mortgage teams and Homejourney Mortgage Brokers then contact you with specific refinance offers. - Accept the best offer and let lawyers handle conveyancing
• Once you choose a package, the appointed law firm will handle redemption from your old bank and registration with the new bank.
• You will sign the new Letter of Offer, CPF forms, and legal documents; most owners complete everything in 6–10 weeks. - Update GIRO, fire insurance and CPF
• Your new bank usually sets up a fresh GIRO and mortgage fire insurance; ensure old arrangements are cancelled and new ones activated.
• CPF Board will route your monthly CPF OA deductions to the new bank once legal completion is done.
During this process, Homejourney’s team monitors status updates so you can track progress safely without worrying about missed deadlines.
Step-by-Step: How Repricing Within the Same Bank Works
Repricing is simpler and faster because you do not change bank:
- Request repricing options
• About 3–6 months before your lock-in ends, contact your bank’s home loan department and request their latest repricing packages.
• Many banks, including DBS, OCBC and UOB, allow you to submit the request online or via phone. - Compare repricing against external offers
• Use Homejourney to compare your bank’s repricing offer against top banks refinancingReferences
