Buying A 4-Room HDB Flat In Bukit Merah At S$938,000: What Q2 2026 Data Shows

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.

The price of a flat is only part of what a purchase involves. Stamp duty, the loan limit, the cash needed up front and the cost of holding the home all shape the total.

In this article, we look at one worked example for a 4-room flat in Bukit Merah. The buyer is a 35-year-old Singapore citizen buying a first home to live in, with a household income of S$10,000 a month and an HDB loan over 25 years.

Based on HDB resale data from data.gov.sg, the median price in Q2 2026 was S$938,000 across 101 sales. This site's own engine then computes the costs from that price. It puts the five-year cost of holding the flat at S$143,807.

Which Sales Sit Behind The Median?

The example uses the median price of 4-room flat sales in Bukit Merah in Q2 2026. The table below shows the sales behind it.

The median flat measured 93 sqm, and the median price per area was S$10,086 psm. A year earlier the median price was S$939,000, so the change is -0.1%. Note that a median comes from recorded transactions and is indicative only. It is not a valuation of any one flat.

How Much Cash And Loan Does It Involve?

The first table below sets out the purchase at the median price. The second shows how the loan limit is reached.

Stamp duty is S$22,740, all of it buyer's stamp duty. Additional buyer's stamp duty is S$0 at 0%. The maximum loan is S$632,629, or 67.4% of the price. No minimum cash applies, and S$305,371 is payable in CPF or cash. With stamp duty, the total before the loan is S$328,111.

Three limits apply to the loan. The loan-to-value cap of 75% would allow S$703,500, and the total debt servicing ratio would allow S$1,159,820. The mortgage servicing ratio allows S$632,629, so it is the binding limit. The monthly instalment is S$3,000 at 3%, which is 30.0% of the stated income. The stress rate used in the test is also 3%.

What Does Holding The Flat For Five Years Cost?

The table below breaks down the cost of holding the flat for five years. It assumes a sale at today's indicative mid value after five years, and the maximum loan.

Interest is the largest item at S$88,303. Costs going in are S$26,010 and costs coming out are S$23,718. Property tax and maintenance add S$5,775. The total is S$143,807. On these assumptions, the price would need to rise 15.7% over the five years to cover that total.

How Does Stamp Duty Change By Buyer Profile?

The same flat at the same price carries a different stamp duty bill depending on who buys it. The table below compares four buyer profiles.

The buyer's stamp duty is the same S$22,740 for every profile. The difference comes from the additional buyer's stamp duty rate. A Singapore citizen buying a second home pays S$210,340 in total at 20%, with an LTV cap of 45%. A permanent resident buying a first home pays S$69,640 at 5%. A foreigner pays S$585,540 at 60%.

Summary

For a first-time Singapore citizen buyer at Bukit Merah's Q2 2026 median, the stamp duty is S$22,740 and the loan limit is S$632,629. The total payable before the loan is S$328,111. Holding the flat for five years costs S$143,807 on the stated assumptions.

These figures come from 101 recorded sales and the rules recorded as in force. They are indicative only. They describe one stated buyer profile and cannot show what any other buyer, flat or loan would cost.

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$10,000 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$632,629 (67% of the price), the maximum available. Property tax on an assumed annual value of S$18,375 (35% 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.