Home loans

The progressive payment scheme

When you buy a home from a developer before it is built, you pay in stages set by the Housing Developers Rules: 20% when you sign, including the booking fee, then 5% to 10% at each construction stage, 25% at TOP and 15% at completion. You pay your own share first, from cash and CPF. The bank loan pays the later stages, and you repay only what it has released, so the monthly instalment rises as the building goes up.

Checked against official sources on 21 October 2026

Progressive payment calculator

An estimate under the Housing Developers Rules schedule and MAS’s limits for a first home loan. Your bank works out the instalment on each amount it releases.

The payment stages

Each construction stage is due within 14 days of the developer’s notice, which comes with a qualified person’s certificate. The roofing, fittings and car park stages can come in any order.

  1. 20% on signing the sale and purchase agreement, within 8 weeks of the option date, including the booking fee of 5% to 10% paid for the option.
  2. 10% when the foundation, including pile caps, is complete.
  3. 10% when the reinforced concrete framework of the unit is complete.
  4. 5% for the partition walls.
  5. 5% for the roofing and ceiling.
  6. 5% for the door and window frames, electrical wiring, internal plastering and plumbing.
  7. 5% for the car park, roads and drains serving the project.
  8. 25% at the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).
  9. 15% at the Certificate of Statutory Completion and legal completion. Of this, 5% is held by a stakeholder until 12 months after you get the keys, for defects.

Who pays each stage

  • You pay first. URA’s Home Buyer’s Guide has CPF savings paid out only after the booking fee, the cash down payment and any balance that the loan and CPF do not cover.
  • With a first bank loan at 75% LTV, your share is 25%: the 5% booking fee in cash, then 15% at signing from CPF or cash, then half of the foundation stage.
  • At 55% LTV your share is 45%, with at least 10% in cash, so the loan starts at the roofing stage.
  • From then on, the bank pays each stage on the developer’s notice.

How the instalment rises

Banks release a progressive loan stage by stage and charge interest only on what they have released. OCBC’s terms work out the instalment on the amount released and review it at each release, so you pay a small instalment during construction and the full one after completion.

Worked example

A $1.5 million new launch with a $1,125,000 bank loan at 75% LTV, over 30 years at 3% a year:

  • You pay $375,000 first: the $75,000 booking fee in cash, $225,000 at signing and $75,000 of the foundation stage.
  • After the foundation stage the bank has released $75,000, so the instalment is about $316 a month. After the framework it is about $949.
  • At TOP the bank has released $900,000, and the instalment is about $3,794.
  • At completion the whole $1,125,000 is out, and the instalment is about $4,743.

Deferred payment and interest schemes

  • Deferred payment schemes for uncompleted private homes have not been allowed since October 2007, MND says.
  • MND ended the deferred payment scheme for EC sites whose tender closed on or after 8 May 2026.

Paying on time

  • A late stage payment carries interest at 2% a year above the average prime lending rate of DBS, OCBC and UOB.
  • If a payment stays unpaid for more than 14 days, the developer can give 21 days’ notice to annul the agreement and keep 20% of the price.
  • Buyer’s Stamp Duty, and any ABSD, is due within 14 days of signing the sale and purchase agreement.

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Questions

What is the progressive payment scheme in Singapore?

The payment schedule for homes bought from a developer before completion. The Housing Developers Rules fix the share due at each stage, from 20% at signing to 15% at completion.

When does the bank loan start under progressive payment?

After you have paid your own share. At 75% LTV that is 25% of the price, so the loan starts during the foundation stage; at 55% LTV it starts at the roofing stage.

Can I use CPF for progressive payments?

Yes, after the booking fee and the cash down payment. With a 75% bank loan, the 15% due at signing can come from CPF Ordinary Account savings.

Do I pay the full monthly instalment while the condo is being built?

No. The bank works out the instalment on the amount it has released, so it rises at each stage and reaches the full amount after completion.

Is there a deferred payment scheme for new launches?

Not for uncompleted private homes: it has been barred since October 2007. MND ended it for EC sites whose tender closed on or after 8 May 2026.

Sources

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

Related guides

Down payments in Singapore

How much down payment you pay for a BTO flat, HDB resale flat, new launch, EC or resale condo, when each part is due, and how much must be cash rather than CPF. With a calculator.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits in Singapore

LTV limits for Singapore home loans from MAS and HDB: 75% on a first bank loan, 45% on a second, 35% on a third, 75% on an HDB loan, with the minimum cash down payment and a calculator.

Buyer's Stamp Duty in Singapore

Work out Buyer's Stamp Duty on a Singapore home: the 1% to 6% residential rates from IRAS, a calculator with each band, worked examples and when to pay.