Young couple enjoying their new house by gaming together.

Buying a home in Singapore

This article was produced in partnership with MoneySmart.

If you’ve only got a minute:

  • Covid has resulted in construction delays, and longer renovation lead times. Smoothen your homeowning journey with digital tools such as DBS Property Marketplace and MyHome Planner.
  • Use DBS Property Marketplace to determine your home affordability and browse listings within your budget. Save your home-buying budget and customised searches, and re-visit them as the situation changes.
  • Use MyHome planning tool to work out your home loan repayment schedules.

Since COVID-19, we have been faced with a series of challenges that include managing the impact of the pandemic, implementing safety protocols, dealing with job insecurity, navigating concerns around cash flow, and coping with rising interest rates.

As a result, some of us may have put big plans on hold, such as getting married, starting a family or making the leap to finally become a homeowner.

But it’s time to get ahead with the plans - you, like many others, want to realise your dream of finally having a place of your own.

Before you take the plunge, do you know what it takes to buy a home in Singapore, especially in today’s inflationary environment? Here’s what you need to know:


Young pregnant couple reading on the property situation in Singapore

The property situation right now

Even if you held off buying your home in the last 2 years, you probably still kept tabs on the property market. Who would have thought that property prices would continue to head north while most of our lives came to somewhat of a “standstill” during the pandemic. A slew of factors, including construction delays of new properties, low interest rates, as well as wealth creation from the volatile stocks and crypto markets have contributed to increasing home prices in 2021.

As prices for homes have been rising steadily, there have been concerns that a booming property market might result in a bubble. As a result, the government has implemented property cooling measures several times in the last 2 years.

Read more: Should you invest in SG property?

Couple playing with young child in their new house.

Smart moves to realise your home goals quickly

Owning a home can be a BIG responsibility (as well as an expensive one), so it’s important to start your home ownership journey on the right foot. To ensure that you can realise your home goals quickly and as smoothly as possible, take note of these smart moves:

1. Know how much you can afford

Buying a house is more than just looking at the listed price and dividing it by the number of months you’ll be paying the home loan for.

You’ll need to factor in other costs and fees, such as the application fee, option fee, downpayment, stamp duty, legal fees, insurance premiums (Home Protection Scheme for HDB flats, fire insurance, home contents insurance), cash over valuation or COV (any cost in excess of the bank's valuation), and of course total interest payable. There may be more fees involved, such as agent fees or registration fees.

That’s why you need to consider how much you have on hand (includes Central Provident Fund or CPF monies, and cash), as well as the payment methods for the various costs and fees, before you can know how much you can truly afford for your property.

In addition, you may also need to check on the following:

• Mortgage Servicing Ratio or MSR - this is capped at 30% of all borrowers' gross monthly income. The calculation of your MSR is based on your loan amount and combined monthly gross income

• Total Debt Servicing Ratio or TDSR - this was implemented by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to prevent people from over-stretching themselves by borrowing too much money to finance home purchases

The maths involved is quite complex, but thank goodness for technology and online calculators! Check out these nifty home loan calculators that can help you out.

Example:
Jane and her husband plan to buy a HDB flat. After paying all the relevant costs and fees by cash/CPF, the loan balance is $300,000. They opt for a 25-year home loan tenure and manage to lock in a mortgage interest rate of 4.00% p.a. for the first 5 years with a bank. Here’s what their monthly instalments look like for the first 5 years:

POSB/DBS Repayment Schedule Calculator

POSB/DBS Repayment Schedule Calculator

2. Know what you’re looking for in a home

Once you have determined your budget, this will inform the type of home you can afford, along with its location, size, features, amenities and so on.

For instance, if you can only afford to pay $300,000, you probably can’t buy a private property, but likely able to get a smaller and older resale flat in a mature estate, or a larger one in a non-mature estate with fewer amenities.

With your housing budget, it helps you manage your dream home expectations and realistically determine the parameters of your family nest.

However, if you’re able to afford a private property, do consider if you’re over-stretching yourself, and if you really want to hit the ceiling of your housing budget.

Young couple comparing home loans to decide on the right one.

3. Choosing the right home loan

Frankly, with home loan interest rates currently low, most of the banks in Singapore offer largely similar interest rates (need to stay competitive, which benefits us customers!).

But that doesn’t mean you should skip into your nearest bank and take out any home loan just to check one item off your home-owning to-do list. Be sure to scrutinise all the fine print, check for any additional fees, lock-in periods, etc.

And do keep an eye out for synergies, especially if you already have an account (savings, credit card, investment or otherwise, with the same bank.

For example, the POSB HDB Home Loan offers a variety of packages for various needs, with the following benefits:

• Synergy with the Multiplier Account: Increase your monthly eligible transaction amount to earn higher interest

• Upfront cash rebates/rewards of $2,000 (for minimum loan amount of $250,000, refinancing only)

• Exclusive rate at 2.60% p.a. (for a limited time only) to support new HDB home buyers and existing HDB owners earning less than $2,500 per month in this rising interest rate environment

(Check out the latest online exclusive promotions here.)

4. Get an IPA

No, no… We’re not asking you to drink beer while waiting for your dream home. IPA in housing terms stands for In-Principle Approval, sometimes also known as Approval In-Principle, or AIP. But nothing’s stopping you from chugging your India Pale Ale if that makes your home-owning journey more enjoyable!

Having an IPA can really speed things up. In short, it’s an agreement with a bank. Based on your credit history and financial health, a bank can assess your eligibility and give a pre-approval for your home loan.

There are some things to note:

• An IPA is NOT an actual loan

• An IPA is NOT a commitment that you MUST take up the loan from that bank (you are free to let it lapse while you pursue greener pastures)

• An IPA can be rejected or cancelled if your financial situation suddenly changes - so don’t plan major life or job changes when buying a home

• An IPA typically lasts 30 days - spend this time going house shopping

If you’re buying a HDB flat, you will be asked to apply for the HDB Loan Eligibility or HLE. This letter is HDB’s equivalent of the IPA.

5. Know where to look

If you’re still feeling lost or don’t know how to begin, there are plenty of resources to help you online. In addition to helpful property articles, check out POSB/DBS’s home loans portal for more guides.

Screenshot of DBS Property Marketplace

Get even more concrete advice with the DBS Property Marketplace, a one-stop shop with a home planner to determine your home affordability, listings suited to your budget (you can save/customise searches, with automatic updates when new listings that fit your criteria are added), a treasure trove of resources and information, and tools such as the MyHome planning tool to help you work out your sums.

6. Other considerations
Being a homeowner doesn’t stop at simply getting a home. You’ll also need to do renovation work to make the house truly yours (remember the preferential rate we brought up earlier?), and you’ll need to protect your purchase and items within the house with insurance.

How about furniture? Consider getting a credit/debit card so you can pay 0% interest on monthly instalments for better cashflow. Sometimes credit/debit cards will have partner promotions as well, so you can save even more money while accruing rewards points, cashback and other perks.

For homeowners who are environmentally friendly, consider sourcing for eco-friendly electricity plans and zero-waste home furnishing items that compliments your new home.

There are just so many considerations when embarking on this new journey of being a homeowner. Good thing there’s lots of help and support available, so you can fulfil your long-time dream of having a place to call your own!

 

Start Planning Now

Check out the latest POSB/DBS home loan promotions to get a headstart on your home-buying journey.

Online Exclusives

Check out DBS MyHome to work out the sums and find a home that meets your budget and preferences. The best part – it cuts out the guesswork.

Start Planning

Alternatively, prepare yourself with an In-Principle Approval (IPA), so you have certainty on how much you could borrow for your home, allowing you to know your budget accurately.

Apply In-Principle Approval

 

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