What a home loan costs each month and in all, and how much HDB or a bank will lend you on your income: the limits MAS and HDB set, and which one stops you.
For example: an HDB loan of S$500,000 at today’s 2.6%, over 25 years
Monthly instalmentS$2,268.35S$500,000 at 2.6% a year over 25 years
Total interest
S$180,504
Total paid
S$680,504
Interest in the first year
S$12,829
Year by year
Year
Paid
Interest
Off the loan
Still owed
1
S$27,220
S$12,829
S$14,391
S$485,609
2
S$27,220
S$12,451
S$14,770
S$470,840
3
S$27,220
S$12,062
S$15,158
S$455,682
4
S$27,220
S$11,663
S$15,557
S$440,125
5
S$27,220
S$11,254
S$15,966
S$424,158
6
S$27,220
S$10,834
S$16,386
S$407,772
7
S$27,220
S$10,403
S$16,818
S$390,954
8
S$27,220
S$9,960
S$17,260
S$373,694
9
S$27,220
S$9,506
S$17,714
S$355,980
10
S$27,220
S$9,040
S$18,180
S$337,800
11
S$27,220
S$8,561
S$18,659
S$319,141
12
S$27,220
S$8,071
S$19,150
S$299,991
13
S$27,220
S$7,567
S$19,654
S$280,338
14
S$27,220
S$7,050
S$20,171
S$260,167
15
S$27,220
S$6,519
S$20,701
S$239,466
16
S$27,220
S$5,974
S$21,246
S$218,220
17
S$27,220
S$5,415
S$21,805
S$196,415
18
S$27,220
S$4,841
S$22,379
S$174,036
19
S$27,220
S$4,253
S$22,968
S$151,068
20
S$27,220
S$3,648
S$23,572
S$127,496
21
S$27,220
S$3,028
S$24,192
S$103,304
22
S$27,220
S$2,391
S$24,829
S$78,475
23
S$27,220
S$1,738
S$25,482
S$52,993
24
S$27,220
S$1,068
S$26,153
S$26,841
25
S$27,220
S$380
S$26,841
S$0
Interest is charged each month on what’s still owed (2.6% ÷ 12 a month), so early instalments are mostly interest.
HDB’s concessionary rate is 2.6% a year (1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026): 0.1%-point above CPF’s Ordinary Account rate, and it changes when that does. A bank’s package is usually fixed or pegged to SORA for the first few years, then floats: ask for its “thereafter” rate.
HDB loan or bank loan
An HDB flat can be paid for with HDB’s concessionary loan or a bank’s. Anything else, a condo, a landed home or an executive condo, is a bank loan. Both are capped twice: by the price (the loan-to-value limit) and by your income (what the monthly instalment may take of it).
HDB loan
Bank loan
Interest rate
2.60% a year (1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026), 0.1%-point above CPF’s OA rate
The bank’s package: fixed or pegged to SORA
Loan-to-value
Up to 75%
Up to 75% (see below)
Longest term
25 years, and paid off by 65
30 years for an HDB flat, 35 for anything else
Income limit
MSR: instalments up to 30% of income, worked out at 3% at least
TDSR: all debts up to 55%, and MSR 30% for an HDB flat or new EC, worked out at 4% at least
Downpayment
25%: all of it can be CPF
25% or more: at least 5% of the price in cash
Who can have it
Household income up to S$16,000 a month (S$24,000 extended families, S$8,000 singles), and an HDB Flat Eligibility letter
Anyone the bank approves
HDB’s 75% is of the price for a new flat, and of the lower of the price and HDB’s valuation for a resale flat, and it’s cut if the flat’s lease doesn’t last the youngest buyer to 95: check the lease left. Its term is the shortest of 25 years, 65 less your average age, and the lease left less 20 years.
Bank loans: how much of the price
Other home loans still owing
Loan-to-value
Cash at least
Longer term or past 65
Cash at least
None
75%
5%
55%
10%
One
45%
25%
25%
25%
Two or more
35%
25%
15%
25%
“Longer term” is over 25 years for an HDB flat or over 30 for anything else; “past 65” is a loan that would still be running when you turn 65. For two borrowers, that age is their income-weighted average: a father of 60 earning S$8,000 and his son of 30 earning S$10,000 count as 43.33.
TDSR and MSR
TDSR, the Total Debt Servicing Ratio: every loan you pay each month, the new home loan included, at most 55% of your gross monthly income. For any bank property loan.
MSR, the Mortgage Servicing Ratio: home loan instalments at most 30% of your gross monthly income, for an HDB flat or an executive condo bought from the developer. HDB applies it to its own loans too.
Banks work out the new loan at a 4% medium-term interest rate at least (5% for shops and offices), or the package’s rate after the lock-in if that’s higher; HDB at 3% at least. So the loan you qualify for is less than today’s rates would suggest.
Bonuses, commissions and rental income count for 70% at most (a haircut of 30% at least).
How much is the monthly instalment on a S$500,000 HDB loan?
S$2,268.35 a month over 25 years at HDB’s 2.6%, with S$180,504 of interest in all. At a bank’s 4% it would be S$2,639.18 a month.
How much can I borrow from HDB on S$9,000 a month?
About S$569,366 over 25 years, if you have no other home loan: HDB keeps the instalment to 30% of your income, S$2,700, and works it out at 3%. At its 75% loan-to-value, that’s a flat of up to about S$759,000; the actual instalment at 2.6% is S$2,583.04.
What is HDB’s loan interest rate now?
2.60% a year from 1 October to 31 December 2026. It’s 0.1%-point above CPF’s Ordinary Account interest rate, and HDB reviews it every quarter, so it only moves when that does.
What’s the difference between TDSR and MSR?
TDSR caps all your monthly debts, car and study loans and credit cards too, at 55% of your gross income, for any bank property loan. MSR caps just the home loan instalments, at 30%, and only for an HDB flat or a new executive condo. For an HDB flat with a bank loan, both apply, and the tighter one decides.
Can I pay the downpayment with CPF?
With an HDB loan, all of it, from your CPF Ordinary Account. With a bank loan, at least 5% of the price must be cash (10% for a longer loan, 25% if you already have a home loan), and the rest can be CPF.
Can I switch from a bank loan to an HDB loan?
No. A bank loan on an HDB flat can be refinanced with another bank, or another of the bank’s packages (mind the lock-in), but never with an HDB loan. So choose before you buy: the HDB Flat Eligibility letter shows what HDB would lend you, and you can ask the banks for an in-principle approval at the same time.
Is my income sent anywhere?
No. It’s all worked out in your browser, and nothing you type or pick goes into the page’s address.