Idy Tee
- May 22, 2021
- 10 min read

How Much Do You Need to Save and Earn Monthly for Singles Buying A Condo in Singapore?

Updated: May 6

If you have read my last blog post on the "Ultimate Checklist Guide For Under 35 Singles Buying Condo in Singapore", I listed out a few key pointers to take note of for under 35 singles buying condo in Singapore, including the importance of understanding what is TDSR - Total Debt Servicing Ratio and doing up your bank loan IPA.

One other thing that I mentioned is also about saving up sufficient money and CPF to be able to afford the downpayment if you want to buy a condo in Singapore as it can come up to a pretty hefty sum.

In this article today, I will be providing you with the cost breakdown using actual numbers based on today’s property market, and also to give you a realistic check on condo prices these days in the market so you know exactly how much you to save up for the condo downpayment and other costs.

For ease of comparison, I will only be comparing the prices of new launch condo in Singapore instead of a resale condo, and using only a 1-bedroom unit as an example as singles that are buying a condo in Singapore would usually opt for the smaller sizes.

What is a New Launch Condo in Singapore?

A new launch condo is a condo that has not completed building yet, but allows buyers to start purchasing already. It will take approximately 4 to 5 years for a new launch condo to complete building, similar to how a BTO works.

Buyers of a new launch condo in Singapore will be able to see the mock-up of the condo at a condo showflat to visualize how the development will look like eventually before buying.

Show flats also provide actual room configurations so that you will have an idea of how big will be the unit that you are buying.

Let us first have an idea of how much a 1-bedroom new launch condo costs in the current market in the different parts of Singapore.

How Much Does a 1 Bedroom New Launch Condo Cost in Singapore for Singles?

How Singapore segments properties are according to 3 regions: Outside Central Region (OCR), Rest of Central Region (RCR), and Core Central Region (CCR). You can read more about them here.

Source

Outside Central Region (OCR)

Outside Central Region (OCR) is basically where you can find the most affordable condo prices as they are further away from town area.

Some Outside Central Region places would be Flora Drive, Changi, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang, Woodlands, Yishun, and Sembawang for example.

An example of an OCR new launch condo in Singapore would be The Florence Residences, located in District 19 – Hougang/ Punggol/ Sengkang and it is a 99 years leasehold condo that has 1410 units in total and is developed by Logan Group.

The Florence Residences

The lowest-priced 1 bedroom at The Florence Residences costs about S$841,000 to S$932,000 thereabout currently depending on the level and facing of the unit.

[Update - The Florence Residences is currently fully sold out by the developer]

Rest of Central Region (RCR)

Rest of Central Region (RCR) are properties located on the city fringe, where their price range is in the mid-tier zone between OCR and CCR properties. Some RCR regions would be Balestier, Queenstown, Tiong Bahru, Farrer Park, Macpherson for example.

An example of an RCR new launch condo in Singapore would be Park Colonial, located in District 13 – Macpherson/Potong Pasir and it is a 99 years leasehold condo that has 805 units in total. Park Colonial is expected to complete building in Nov 2021 at the moment.

Park Colonial

There are only 3 1-bedroom units left in Park Colonial currently as all other units are sold out, and the lowest priced 1-bedroom unit at Park Colonial is currently at about S$942,000 to S$985,000 after the new launch discounts.

[Update - Park Colonial is currently fully sold out by the developer]

Core Central Region (CCR)

Core Central Region (CCR) are properties located in the prime areas of Singapore where you can find the highest end and most luxurious properties at. They include areas like Orchard, Somerset, River Valley, Bukit Timah, Tanglin, Newton, Novena, Tanjong Pagar, and Bugis for example.

An example of a CCR new launch condo in Singapore would be Midtown Modern, located in District 7 – Beach Road/ Bugis/ Rochor and it is a 99 years leasehold condo that has 558 units in total.

[Update - 1 bedroom units are still available for sale at Midtown Modern]

Midtown Modern

Midtown Modern was launched in March 2021 and saw 61% of units sold over the launch weekend between March 19 to 21. The lowest-priced 1 bedroom unit in Midtown Modern is approximately S$1,426,000 to S$1,672,000 currently.

Another CCR new launch condo in Singapore notable is also Kopar at Newton with its 1-bedroom priced at approximately S$1,288,000 to S$1,499,000 currently.

Kopar at Newton is located in District 9 – Orchard/River Valley area, and it is a 99 years leasehold new launch condo expected to complete building in Dec 2023 or earlier.

[Update - 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units are still available for sale at Kopar @ Newton]

Kopar at Newton

How much money do you need to save up for the condo downpayment as a single?

With the above examples, you now have a clearer idea of how much a 1-bedroom new launch condo costs in Singapore.

To keep things simple, let us use Park Colonial with a purchase price of S$942,000 as it is a mid-tier range RCR new launch condo, as an example to calculate how much cash or CPF is sufficient for you to buy, how much you should save and how much you should be earning to get that 75% home loan from the bank.

1. Bank Home Loan Structure and Condo Downpayment

Based on a purchase price of S$942,000, this is how much cash and CPF OA downpayment you would require.

5% cash – S$47,100

20% cash/CPF OA - S$188,400

75% bank home loan - S$706,500

2. Buyer Stamp Duties (BSD)

Buyer stamp duties are taxes payable to the government when you buy or acquire a property that is located in Singapore.

The buyer stamp duty payable for a purchase price of S$942,000 would be S$22,860.

Otherwise, you can refer to this table below from IRAS to do a manual calculation and check if the numbers stated above are correct.

Source

Latest Stamp Duty Update for Properties Purchased After 15 Feb 2023:

Source: IRAS

Do take note that the BSD numbers that I have illustrated above are for Singaporean Citizens buying their first property in Singapore.

If you are a Singaporean Permanent Resident (PR) or you are going to buy your 2nd property then you will have to incur Additional Buyer Stamp Duties (ABSD) on top of the BSD that you are already paying, which you can read more about this here.

The S$22,860 that I have calculated earlier can be paid by CPF OA if you are buying a new launch condo in Singapore. If you are buying a resale condo, you will have to pay the BSD in cash first and then later use your CPF OA monies to reimburse yourself.

3. Legal Fees

The reason why there are legal fees is that you will need to engage a property law firm to do conveyancing for you. Legal fees are payable to property law firms to help you coordinate between numerous parties in Singapore – Singapore Land Authority, the developer, the bank, CPF board, and yourself.

Legal fees payable to property law firms in Singapore for new launch condo purchases are approximately S$2500 to $3000 depending on law firm and can be paid via cash or CPF OA.

4. Bank Valuation Fee

Bank Valuation fee is a one-time fee payable to the bank upfront once you have obtained your bank home loan approval, and ranges from S$50 to S$80 plus for buying a new launch condo in Singapore, and have to be paid in cash only.

5. Bank Fire Insurance Premiums

Bank Fire Insurance Premiums are yearly insurance premiums payable to the bank as you will be required to take up fire insurance with whichever bank you take up your bank home loan with.

It costs around S$100 plus to S$200 plus per year and is only payable at a later stage after your new launch condo has reached its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) stage and completed building. Bank fire insurance premiums are payable by cash only.

6. Maintenance Fees payable to Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST)

MCST is the committee that manages the maintenance of your new launch condo in the future after it has completed building which includes duties like maintaining the cleanliness of the condo, repairing damages to common property, giving the condo a fresh coat of paint after a few years of it being worn out etc.

Do take note that MCST is not payable while the new launch condo is still building.

Maintenance fees will be payable in cash quarterly and for a 1-bedroom new launch condo in Park Colonial, we are looking at about approximately S$225 per month, payable by cash only.

7. Minor Renovation and Furniture Costs

A new launch condo is new and comes partially fitted so you do not really need to allocate too large of a sum to renovations.

New launch condo developers would usually already provide you with a newly renovated kitchen, bathrooms, built-in wardrobes and provide you with a complimentary fridge, oven, washer and dryer.

Therefore, you might only be spending about S$10,000 or so to buy some basic furniture for your living and bedroom.

We will round up the above costs at the end of this article to see how much money you would need to have to buy an RCR new launch condo in Singapore.

How much salary do you have to earn monthly to buy a condo as a single in Singapore?

Using the same example of the new launch condo Park Colonial as mentioned above at a purchase price of S$942,000, you will need to qualify for a 75% bank home loan amount of S$706,500.

If you are a single under the age of 35, the maximum loan tenure that you can get is 30 years loan tenure be it you are 25 or 35 years old. If you are a single over the age of 35, the maximum loan tenure would be 65 – your age.

Therefore, assuming that you are under 35 years old and you can get the maximum 30 years loan tenure, and you are currently employed full time receiving a monthly salary.

You will need to earn approximately a S$6200 monthly salary to be able to qualify for a 75% bank home loan amount of S$706,500. This S$6200 is before CPF deductions. (This is based on the latest cooling measure in 2022 with a stress test of 4% interest rate and recognizing only 55% of your monthly income).

How much are the bank loan monthly installments for singles buying a 1 bedroom new launch condo?

Based on a purchase price of S$942,000 in our previous example, a 75% bank home loan amount is S$706,500 as mentioned.

Therefore, based on a single buyer under the age of 35, with a home loan amount of S$706,500, on a 30 years tenure at approximately 3.6% per annum to be prudent (based on the latest interest rates as of December 2022), your full monthly installment will be S$3212 after the new launch condo has reached its final building stage called Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC).

The good thing about buying a new launch condo is that the monthly installment repayment for your home loan is on a progressive repayment structure, meaning to say that you do not have to pay the S$3212 immediately every month.

Your installments increase gradually for the first 4 to 5 years after you have bought the new launch condo, following the progress of the condo's building speed and stage.

Let me break it down for you so that you can have a clearer overview:

Progressive Payment Schedule for New Launch Condo

*Assuming Purchase Price of $942,000*	*Payment Needed*	Monthly Installments
Stage 1 - Booking fee & OTP granted	5% cash downpayment - $47,100	NIL
Stage 2 (2 weeks to receive Sales & Purchase agreement)	NIL	NIL
Stage 3 (3 weeks to exercise Sales & Purchase agreement and pay BSD)	Buyer stamp duty payable by CPF OA - $22,860	NIL
Stage 4	15% cash/CPF OA downpayment - $141,300	NIL
Stage 5 (Completion of Foundation Work)	- 5% cash/CPF OA downpayment: $47,100 - Loan amount of $47,100 disbursed by bank	$214.14
Stage 5 (Completion of Reinforced Concrete Framework of Unit)	- Loan amount of $94,200 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $642.42
Stage 6 (Completion of Partition Walls of Unit)	- Loan amount of $47,100 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $856.56
Stage 7 (Completion of Roofing/Ceiling of Unit)	- Loan amount of $47,100 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $1070.7
Stage 8 (Completion of Door, Frames, And Plumbing)	- Loan amount of $47,100 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $1284.84
Stage 9 (Completion of Carpark, Roads and Drains)	- Loan amount of $47,100 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $1498.98
Stage 10: TOP (Temporary Occupation Permit obtained)	- Loan amount of $232,500 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $2569.67
Stage 11: CSC (Certificate of Statutory Completion)	- Loan amount of $141,300 disbursed by bank	Installment increases to $3212.09

So, how much cash does a single need to save before being able to buy a new launch condo in Singapore?

This is a summary of the costs we have talked about just now in the first section.

Purchase price of $942,000 for a 1 bedroom unit at Park Colonial new launch condo:

Upfront Cash Needed

5% cash downpayment - S$47,100 one time

Bank Valuation Fee - S$80 one time

Furniture, Minor Renovation - S$10,000 one time

Total cash - S$57,180

Upfront Cash/CPF OA Needed

20% cash/CPF OA downpayment - S$188,400 one time

Buyer Stamp Duties - S$22,860 one time

Legal Fee - S$2500 one time

Total cash/CPF OA - S$213,760

Yearly Recurring Cash Payment

Bank Fire Insurance Yearly Premiums - S$200 per year

Monthly Recurring Cash Payment

MCST Maintenance Fees - S$225 per month

Monthly Recurring Cash/CPF Payment

Bank Loan Monthly Installments - S$3212 can be paid by CPF/cash

The total upfront cash amount we are looking at is about S$57,180 and the total cash/CPF OA amount is about S$213,760 for a purchase price of S$942,000.

If you do not have CPF OA, then the total cash you will have to save upfront in total would be approximately S$270,000.

For singles buying a condo in Singapore, it can be a bigger risk and higher financial commitment for you as compared to married couples that have their spouses to support them in the event of a mishap.

Therefore, please plan your finances properly and prudently, and do not overstretch yourself on your finances.

Do ensure that you still have some cash reserves stashed up in the event of a rainy day, and not be living month to month on your next paycheck, especially after you have made the lump sum downpayment for the condo. Remember you still have to pay the bank loan monthly installments.

Feel free to reach out to us if you require any help with buying a condo in Singapore. **Note - No commission is payable should you decide to engage us to help you with purchasing a new launch executive condo (EC), resale executive condo (EC), a new launch condo or a resale condo.

For existing new launch condo units, floor plans and prices in the OCR region, you may click on this link to get the latest updates or to schedule a viewing through our team: OCR new launch condo

For existing new launch condo units, floor plans and prices in the RCR region, you may click on this link to get the latest updates or to schedule a viewing through our team: RCR new launch condo

For existing new launch condo units, floor plans and prices in the CCR region, you may click on this link to get the latest updates or to schedule a viewing through our team: CCR new launch condo

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