Buying At District 12's Q2 2026 Median Of S$1,469,000: What The Numbers Say

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.

Anyone watching the private market in Toa Payoh, Balestier or Serangoon knows the headline figure. The median price is one thing. What you actually put on the table at the start is another.

In this article, we look at an illustrative purchase at the quarter's median. We cover stamp duty, the loan limit, the cash needed and the five-year cost. We also show how stamp duty changes by buyer profile.

The median price of a 60 to 99 sqm private unit in District 12 was S$1,469,000 in Q2 2026. That comes from 36 recorded sales, based on URA Data Service caveats.

What Does The Purchase Look Like At The Median?

The buyer here is a Singapore citizen aged 35, buying a first home to live in. Household income is S$18,000 a month. The loan is a bank loan over 25 years.

The table below sets out the purchase at Q2 2026's median price.

Buyer's stamp duty is S$43,360, and additional buyer's stamp duty is S$0 at 0%. The maximum loan is S$1,101,750, or 75.0% of the price. Note that the cash portion is at least S$73,450, with a further S$293,800 payable in CPF or cash. Add stamp duty and the total before the loan is S$410,610.

How Much Can Be Borrowed, And What Is The Monthly Payment?

Two caps apply to the loan. The LTV cap and the TDSR test each produce a figure, and the lower one binds.

The table below shows both.

The LTV cap allows S$1,101,750. The TDSR allows S$1,875,580. The loan-to-value limit is therefore the binding one. The monthly instalment is S$5,225 at 3%, which is 29.0% of the stated income. At the 4% stress rate used in the TDSR test, the instalment is S$5,815.

What Does Five Years Of Holding Cost?

The purchase price is not the whole cost. Interest, tax, maintenance and transaction costs all run alongside it.

The table below adds them up over five years.

Interest over five years is S$153,784. Property tax and maintenance come to S$25,946. Costs going in are S$46,630 and costs coming out are S$35,294. The total is S$261,654. On these figures, the price would need to rise 18.2% over the five years to cover that total.

How Does Stamp Duty Change By Buyer Profile?

Buyer's stamp duty is the same at this price for everyone. The ABSD rate is what moves.

The table below compares four profiles at S$1,469,000.

A Singapore citizen buying a first home pays S$43,360 in total, with ABSD at 0%. A citizen buying a second home pays S$337,160, with ABSD at 20% and an LTV cap of 45.0%. A permanent resident buying a first home pays S$116,810 at 5%. A foreigner pays S$924,760 at 60%. Rates here are the versioned rules recorded as in force, with the newest applied version taking effect 2025-07-04.

What Sits Behind The Median?

The median is drawn from a single quarter and a single size band. The count matters when reading it.

The table below shows the sales behind the figure.

There were 36 sales in District 12 in Q2 2026. The median price was S$1,469,000 at a median size of 888 sqft, or S$1,771 psf. A year earlier the median was S$1,484,000, a change of -1.0%. With 36 sales, a shift in the mix of projects or sizes can move the median on its own.

Summary

At Q2 2026's median of S$1,469,000 in District 12, the illustrative first-time citizen buyer faces S$43,360 in stamp duty and a maximum loan of S$1,101,750. The total before the loan is S$410,610. The monthly instalment is S$5,225 at 3%, or 29.0% of the stated income. Holding for five years costs S$261,654 in all.

These figures come from recorded transactions and the tax and financing rules recorded as in force. They are indicative, not a valuation of any home. The median rests on 36 sales in one quarter, and it was -1.0% against the same quarter a year earlier. The data cannot tell you what any individual unit would transact at, or how costs would differ under a different rate, tenure or buyer profile.

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$1,101,750 (75% of the price), the maximum available. Property tax on an assumed annual value of S$41,820 (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.