Home loans in Singapore for foreigners

The same limits as any borrower

• The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) applies to every individual borrowing to buy a property or against one, whatever their nationality: all monthly debt repayments, the new loan included, must stay within 55% of gross monthly income. TDSR and MSR in Singapore
• The loan-to-value (LTV) limit is 75% of the price on a first home loan, 45% with one home loan already running and 35% with two or more. It falls to 55% when the loan runs past age 65 or beyond 30 years. LTV limits in Singapore
• Buying through a company instead of in your own name caps the loan at 15% of the price.
• These are the most a bank may lend. Each bank still decides whether to lend to you and on what terms.

No CPF, so the rest is cash

• CPF covers Singapore citizens and permanent residents only, and foreign employees do not contribute to it, so you cannot use CPF savings for the down payment, the stamp duty or the monthly instalments.
• On a first home loan at 75%, the other 25% of the price is cash. MAS requires at least 5% in cash from every buyer; for a foreigner the whole 25% is.
• Buyer’s Stamp Duty and the 60% Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty are paid in cash too, unless a free trade agreement gives you a Singapore citizen’s ABSD rates. Buying property as a foreigner

How banks count your income

• Banks use your gross monthly income. They check it against your latest statements from IRAS or from the tax authority of the country where you are taxed.
• When those statements are not enough or cannot be obtained, a bank may use payslips, bank statements, an employment contract or a letter of appointment.
• Bonuses, commissions and rental income count at no more than 70%, averaged over the past 12 months for variable pay.
• The new loan is tested at the higher of 4% a year and the highest rate the bank charges over the loan, not your package rate.

A home loan you already have abroad

• TDSR covers loans for properties in Singapore and outside it, so the monthly instalment on a home loan abroad counts towards your 55%.
• An instalment in a foreign currency is converted to Singapore dollars at the exchange rate on the day you apply.

Worked examples

Each is a first home loan in your own name, for a 35-year-old over 30 years.

• S$1,500,000 condo: you can borrow up to S$1,125,000. At the 4% stress rate that is S$5,371 a month, which needs a gross income of about S$9,766 a month with no other debts.
• The cash for that condo: S$375,000 of the price, S$44,600 Buyer’s Stamp Duty and S$900,000 ABSD, so S$1,319,600. A US national, who pays a citizen’s ABSD rates, needs S$419,600.
• Income of S$12,000 a month with a S$2,000 monthly instalment on a home abroad: TDSR leaves S$4,600 a month, which repays about S$963,500 at 4%.

Questions

Sources

• MAS: Who TDSR applies to (opens in a new tab)
• MAS: Calculating TDSR for property loans (opens in a new tab)
• MAS: Loan tenure and loan-to-value limits (opens in a new tab)
• MAS Notice 645: Computation of Total Debt Servicing Ratio (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• CPF Board: CPF contributions for foreign employees (opens in a new tab)
• IRAS: Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) (opens in a new tab)

Rules and fees change. Check the linked official pages before you commit, and ask a lawyer about your own sale or purchase.

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