Almost every buyer I speak with has heard the same number thrown around: you need 25% downpayment for a private condo in Singapore. That’s technically true, but it hides a detail that catches a lot of families out — not all of that 25% can come from CPF, and not all of it can be paid later. If you’re planning a purchase in 2026, whether it’s your first condo or an upgrade from HDB, understanding exactly how much cash versus CPF you need before you even sign the Option to Purchase can save you a very stressful few weeks trying to plug a gap.
The 25% Isn’t One Lump Sum — It’s Split Into Two Parts
When you buy a private condo with a bank loan at the standard 75% Loan-to-Value ratio, the remaining 25% is the downpayment. But MAS rules split this 25% into two distinct portions: a minimum of 5% that must be paid in cash, and the remaining 20% that can be paid using cash, CPF Ordinary Account savings, or a combination of both.
So on a 1.5 million dollar condo, that works out to 75,000 dollars that must come from your bank account, and a further 300,000 dollars that can be drawn from CPF if you have sufficient OA balance, or topped up with more cash if you don’t. Many first-time upgraders assume CPF alone can cover the full 25%, then discover partway through the process that the 5% cash portion simply cannot be waived, no matter how healthy their CPF balance looks.
Why Your CPF Balance Doesn’t Automatically Solve the Downpayment
CPF usage for property is governed by two ceilings: the Valuation Limit, which is the lower of the purchase price or valuation, and the Withdrawal Limit, which is 120% of the Valuation Limit. Once your CPF usage crosses the Valuation Limit, you’ll need to set aside a portion in your CPF accounts before drawing further — this matters more for the loan repayment stage than the downpayment itself, but it does affect how much OA money is realistically available for that 20% portion.
If you’ve already used a chunk of your CPF OA on a previous HDB flat, or if your OA balance was recently reduced by a CPF housing grant clawback or accrued interest refund, you may find less available than you expected. This is one of the most common surprises I see with upgraders selling an HDB flat to buy a condo — the CPF refund from the HDB sale takes time to process, and if your condo completion date is tight, you may need to bridge with cash first and reimburse yourself from CPF later.
The Downpayment Is Only Part of the Upfront Cash You Need
Buyers often budget for the 25% downpayment and stop there, forgetting that Buyer’s Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase, and it is not optional or deferrable. On a 1.5 million dollar purchase, BSD alone comes to roughly 44,600 dollars, calculated on a tiered basis up to 4% for amounts above 1 million. If this is your second or subsequent property, Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty stacks on top of that, and depending on your citizenship status this can run into six figures.
Then there are the smaller but real costs: legal conveyancing fees typically between 2,500 and 3,000 dollars, valuation fees if you’re financing with a bank, fire insurance, and if you’re buying a new launch, the initial booking fee before the formal Sale and Purchase Agreement is signed. None of these are large individually, but added together they can easily amount to another 3 to 5% of the purchase price that needs to sit in cash, separate from your downpayment fund.
A Practical Way to Plan This Out
Before you start viewing units seriously, I’d suggest working backwards from three numbers: how much cash you have liquid today, how much CPF OA you can access after accounting for any pending refunds, and how much BSD and ABSD (if applicable) will cost at your target price point. Only once these three add up comfortably should you be comparing showflats or resale listings, because the downpayment conversation always comes before the loan approval conversation, not after.
For upgraders selling an HDB flat, timing is the tricky part. Your CPF refund and cash proceeds from the HDB sale usually only land after completion, which can be months after you’ve already committed to the new condo. This is where some families use the sale proceeds as the bulk of their downpayment and rely on short-term cash savings to cover the immediate 5% cash portion and stamp duties, then top up once the HDB sale completes. It works, but it needs to be mapped out on a calendar before you commit, not figured out after.
Common Missteps Worth Avoiding
The most frequent mistake I see is treating the 5% cash requirement as flexible — it isn’t, and no bank can waive it regardless of your income or credit standing. The second is underestimating how CPF withdrawal limits interact with an existing property’s CPF usage, which sometimes means less CPF is available than the OA statement suggests at first glance.
The third, and perhaps most overlooked, is forgetting to leave a buffer beyond the downpayment and duties for renovation, moving costs, and the first few months of a larger mortgage repayment sitting alongside whatever HDB loan or condo maintenance fees you’re still clearing. A downpayment plan that works on paper but leaves your cash reserves at zero on moving day tends to create stress that has nothing to do with the property itself.
If you’re trying to work out whether your current cash and CPF position supports the condo you have in mind, I’m happy to run through the numbers with you over a call or WhatsApp — no obligation, just clarity before you commit to an Option to Purchase.