Buying At District 5's Q2 2026 Median Of S$1,506,500: What It Costs To Buy And Hold

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 tag is only part of a private home purchase. There is stamp duty, a loan cap, cash on hand at signing, and years of interest after that.

In this article, we look at one worked example at the quarter's median price. It covers stamp duty, the loan limit, the cash needed at purchase, and the cost of holding for five years. We also set out stamp duty at the same price for other buyer profiles.

The example sits at the Q2 2026 median for a 60 to 99 sqm private unit in District 5 (Clementi, Pasir Panjang, West Coast). That median is S$1,506,500, based on URA Data Service caveats. The costs around it are computed by this site's position engine.

Where The Median Price Comes From

Start with the price itself. It is drawn from recorded sales of 60 to 99 sqm units in the district during the quarter.

The table below sets out those sales.

There were 76 such sales in Q2 2026. The median size is 877 sqft and the median works out to S$1,950 psf. A year earlier the median price was S$1,524,444, so the change is -1.2%. Note that 76 sales is a small count. The mix of projects and unit sizes can shift from one quarter to the next.

What The Buyer Pays Before The Loan

The buyer in this example 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 shows the purchase at the quarter's median price.

Buyer's stamp duty is S$44,925. Additional buyer's stamp duty is S$0, at a rate of 0% for this profile. The maximum loan is 75.0% of the price. Minimum cash at purchase is S$75,325, with a further S$301,300 payable in CPF or cash. Added to stamp duty, that comes to S$421,550 before the loan.

How Much Can Be Borrowed, And What It Repays

Two limits apply to the loan here. One is the LTV cap, the other is the TDSR test.

The table below sets out both, and the resulting instalment.

The loan allowed by LTV is S$1,129,875. The loan allowed by TDSR is S$1,875,580. The LTV limit is the binding one, since it is the lower of the two. Note that MSR does not apply to a private purchase.

At 3%, the monthly instalment is S$5,358. That is 29.8% of the stated income. At the 4% stress rate used for the TDSR test, the instalment is S$5,964.

What Five Years Of Holding Costs

Costs continue after completion. The engine adds up five years of interest, tax and maintenance, plus the costs of entering and exiting.

The table below breaks down the five-year hold.

Interest over five years is S$157,710, on a standard amortisation schedule at 3%. Property tax and maintenance add S$26,700. Costs going in are S$48,195 and costs coming out are S$36,112, on an exit where the seller pays 2% commission and S$3,000 in legal fees, plus 9% GST. The total is S$268,717.

On those figures, the price would need to rise 18.2% over the five years to cover that total. The exit assumes a sale at today's indicative mid value after five years. These are indicative figures from recorded transactions, not a valuation of any home.

Stamp Duty At The Same Price By Buyer Profile

The same price produces very different stamp duty bills. The difference is ABSD, and the LTV cap can change too.

The table below compares four profiles at S$1,506,500.

Buyer's stamp duty of S$44,925 is the same in every row. A citizen buying a second home pays ABSD of 20%, for a total of S$346,225, with an LTV cap of 45.0%. A permanent resident buying a first home pays 5%, for a total of S$120,250. A foreigner pays 60%, for a total of S$948,825. Rates here are the versioned rules recorded as in force, with the newest applied version taking effect 4 July 2025.

Key Takeaways

At the Q2 2026 median of S$1,506,500 in District 5, this buyer needs S$421,550 before the loan. The loan is capped at S$1,129,875 by LTV, not by TDSR. The instalment is S$5,358 at 3%, or 29.8% of a S$18,000 monthly income. Holding for five years costs S$268,717 in total.

The median behind it rests on 76 sales, down 1.2% from S$1,524,444 a year earlier. A median describes the middle of those recorded sales. It does not describe any particular unit, floor, lease or condition. The hold figures depend on the stated rate, the stated costs and the tax rules recorded as in force, all of which can change.

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$1,129,875 (75% of the price), the maximum available. Property tax on an assumed annual value of S$45,135 (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.