A S$2,002,500 Unit In District 9: What Q2 2026's Median Price Costs A First-Time Buyer

This is an illustrative example built on the quarter's median price and a stated buyer profile. It is not a real purchase, not a valuation of any home, and not advice on whether or how to buy. Every figure in it is computed from recorded transactions and the tax and financing rules recorded as in force.

District 9 covers Orchard, River Valley and Cairnhill. Many readers watch it without ever seeing the full cost of a purchase there. Price is only the start. Stamp duty, the loan cap and the cash due at signing all matter too.

In this article, we look at one worked example at the quarter's median price. We cover stamp duty, the loan limit, the cash needed upfront, the monthly instalment, and the cost of holding for five years.

The median price of a 60 to 99 sqm private unit in District 9 was S$2,002,500 in Q2 2026. That is based on URA Data Service caveats, with the sums computed by this site's position engine.

What Does The Purchase Look Like At The Median?

The buyer in this example is a Singapore citizen aged 35. It is a first home, for owner-occupation. Household income is S$18,000 a month. The loan is a bank loan over 25 years.

The table below sets out the price and what sits on top of it.

Stamp duty comes to S$69,725 in total. Buyer's stamp duty is S$69,725 and additional buyer's stamp duty is S$0, at a 0% rate. The maximum loan is S$1,501,875, or 75.0% of the price. Minimum cash is S$100,125, with a further S$400,500 payable in CPF or cash. Added together with stamp duty, that is S$570,350 before the loan starts.

How Much Can This Buyer Borrow?

Two caps apply to the loan here. One comes from the LTV limit, the other from the TDSR test. The lower of the two binds.

The loan table below shows both figures side by side.

The LTV cap allows S$1,501,875. The TDSR cap allows S$1,875,580. So the LTV limit is the binding one. Note that the monthly instalment is S$7,122 at 3%, which is 39.6% of the stated income. At the 4% stress rate used in the TDSR test, the instalment is S$7,927.

What Does Five Years Of Holding Cost?

Holding costs continue after the keys change hands. Interest, property tax, maintenance and the costs of entering and exiting all add up.

The table below breaks the five-year figure into its parts.

The total cost of the hold is S$369,434. Interest over five years is S$209,634. Property tax and maintenance come to S$39,880. Costs going in are S$72,995 and costs coming out are S$46,924. On these figures, the price would need to rise 18.9% over the five years to cover the total.

How Does Stamp Duty Change By Buyer Profile?

The same price produces very different stamp duty bills. The difference is the ABSD rate attached to each profile.

The table below compares four of them at S$2,002,500.

A citizen buying a first home pays S$69,725 in total. A citizen buying a second home pays S$470,225, at an ABSD rate of 20.0%. A permanent resident buying a first home pays S$169,850, at 5.0%. A foreigner pays S$1,271,225, at 60.0%. Note that the LTV cap also shifts, from 75.0% to 45.0% for the second-home citizen buyer.

What Is Behind The Median?

The median rests on actual caveats lodged for the quarter. The count matters when reading any change.

The table below shows the sales behind the figure.

There were 56 such sales in District 9 in Q2 2026. The median price per area was S$2,402 psf, at a median size of 877 sqft. A year earlier the median was S$2,060,000, so the change is -2.8%. With 56 sales, a shift in the mix of projects or sizes can move the median on its own.

Summary

At the Q2 2026 median of S$2,002,500, this illustrative citizen buyer pays S$69,725 in stamp duty. The loan tops out at S$1,501,875 under the LTV cap. Before the loan, S$570,350 is due. The instalment is S$7,122 a month at 3%. Five years of holding costs S$369,434 in all.

These figures come from recorded transactions and from the tax and financing rules recorded as in force. They are indicative, not a valuation of any home. The median describes 56 sales in one district and one size band in one quarter. It does not describe any single unit, nor what any particular buyer would pay.

Method: an illustrative example, not a real purchase. The price is the median of the quarter's recorded sales named. The buyer is a Singapore citizen first-time owner-occupier aged 35. The stated household income is S$18,000 a month, with no other debt. The loan is the maximum, over 25 years at 3%. Stamp duty, loan limits, instalments and the five-year hold cost are computed by this site's position engine under the rules recorded as in force for the quarter. The rule versions used are bsd 2023-02-15, absd 2023-04-27, ssd 2025-07-04, ltv 2024-08-20, tdsr 2022-09-30, property_tax 2025-01-01, costs 2020-01-01. Further assumptions: sale at today's indicative mid value after 5 years. Seller pays 2% commission and S$3,000 legal fees, plus 9% GST. Mortgage interest from a standard amortisation schedule at the given rate. Loan of S$1,501,875 (75% of the price), the maximum available. Property tax on an assumed annual value of S$73,440 (85% of market rent). Maintenance at the configured norm. Rates are versioned data in config/rules.yaml, checked against IRAS and MAS publications on 2026-09-18. The newest version applied here took effect 2025-07-04. Rules change with each cooling-measure round. Private figures are from URA Data Service caveats, HDB figures from data.gov.sg resale records, both loaded weekly by this site's ingest. Medians are of the non-excluded transactions in the period named. Sales flagged by the hygiene rules (related-party transfers, bulk deals, outliers) are left out. Every figure is indicative and drawn from recorded transactions, not a formal valuation.