Buying In District 15 At Q2 2026's Median Of S$1,620,000: What It Costs

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.

Katong, Joo Chiat and East Coast sit in District 15, and a median-priced home there is a large purchase. This example walks through what the sums look like for one stated buyer.

In this article, we look at the sales behind the median, the stamp duty and cash needed, the loan limits, the monthly instalment and the cost of holding the unit for five years. We also set the stamp duty beside three other buyer profiles.

The headline figure is the Q2 2026 median of S$1,620,000 for a 60 to 99 sqm unit, based on private home transactions from URA Data Service caveats. The buyer figures come from this site's own engine.

What Sits Behind The Median?

The example buyer is a Singapore citizen buying a first home to live in. The buyer is aged 35 and has a household income of S$18,000 a month, with a bank loan over 25 years.

The table below shows the sales behind the median. Note that 76 sales is a modest count, so the median can move from one quarter to the next as the mix of units changes. The figure is a recorded-transaction median, not a valuation of any one home.

What Does The Purchase Cost Up Front?

Stamp duty on the median price is S$50,600. All of it is buyer's stamp duty, as the additional buyer's stamp duty is S$0 at 0%.

The table below sets out the purchase. Minimum cash is S$81,000, and a further S$324,000 can come from CPF or cash. With stamp duty added, the total before the loan is S$455,600.

The second table below shows the same price for four buyer profiles. The buyer's stamp duty is S$50,600 in every row, so the gap comes from the additional buyer's stamp duty. A Singapore citizen buying a second home pays S$374,600 in total, a permanent resident buying a first home S$131,600 and a foreigner S$1,022,600. The loan-to-value cap in that second-home row is 45%, against 75% in the other rows.

How Large Is The Loan?

The maximum loan is S$1,215,000, which is 75.0% of the price. The loan-to-value limit sets it, as the table below shows. The TDSR limit would allow S$1,875,580, so it does not bind here.

The monthly instalment is S$5,762 at 3%, or 32.0% of the stated income. At the 4% stress rate used for the TDSR test, it is S$6,413. Note that the MSR limit is not applicable to this purchase.

What Does Five Years Of Owning Cost?

The engine also adds up what holding the home for five years costs. The table below breaks the total of S$290,708 into four parts.

Interest is the largest part at S$169,592. Property tax and maintenance come to S$28,660. Costs going in are S$53,870 and costs coming out are S$38,586. The engine puts the breakeven price change at 18.3% over the five years. The calculation assumes a sale at today's indicative mid value, so it is an illustration and not a record of any real sale.

Summary

At the Q2 2026 median of S$1,620,000, based on 76 sales and up 0.9% on the S$1,605,000 of a year earlier, the example buyer pays S$50,600 in stamp duty. The total before the loan is S$455,600, and the loan limit is S$1,215,000. The monthly instalment is S$5,762 at 3% and S$6,413 at the stress rate.

Holding the home for five years costs S$290,708 in the engine's calculation. These figures come from recorded transactions and the tax and financing rules recorded as in force. They describe one stated buyer. They cannot show what any particular home would sell for, or how another buyer's circumstances would change the sums.

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$1,215,000 (75% of the price), the maximum available. Property tax on an assumed annual value of S$51,000 (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.