What S$1,320,000 Buys In District 1: The Q2 2026 Median Unit, Costed Line By Line

This is an example based on this quarter's middle price and a stated buyer profile. It is not a real purchase. It is not a valuation of any home. It is not advice on whether or how to buy. Every figure comes from recorded sales and the tax and loan rules in force at the time.

Most price reports only give one headline number. A real buyer faces many separate figures. These include stamp duty, the loan the rules allow, the cash needed instead of CPF, and the cost of holding the home for a few years.

This article works through one example. It uses the median price of 60 to 99 sqm private homes sold in District 1 in Q2 2026. District 1 covers Raffles Place, Marina and Cecil. We cover the stamp duty, the loan limits, the cash needed at purchase, the five-year cost of holding the home, and how stamp duty changes for different types of buyers.

The median price for the quarter was S$1,320,000, based on 23 sales. This comes from caveat data (official records of property sales) from the URA Data Service. A caveat is a legal notice recording that a property sale has taken place. All cost figures were worked out by this site's calculation tool, using the tax and loan rules recorded as in force.

What The Purchase Looks Like At S$1,320,000

This example uses a Singapore citizen buying their first home to live in. The buyer is 35 years old, with a household income of S$18,000 a month, taking a bank loan over 25 years. The home is the median size for this group, about 753 sqft (square feet, the measure used for private home sizes).

The table below shows the price and the amounts due before the loan is given out.

The table shows a buyer's stamp duty of S$37,400. It shows an additional buyer's stamp duty of S$0, because the additional rate for a citizen's first home is 0%. The most the buyer can borrow is S$990,000, which is 75.0% of the price. Of the amount left, at least S$66,000 must be paid in cash. A further S$264,000 can be paid using CPF savings or cash. Adding the stamp duty, S$367,400 is needed before the loan is given.

How Much Can Be Borrowed, And What It Costs Monthly

Two separate limits apply to a bank loan. The first is the loan-to-value limit. The second is the total debt servicing ratio. This stress rate is used only to check affordability. It is not the rate actually charged on the loan.

The table below shows both limits and the resulting monthly payments.

The LTV limit of S$990,000 is the one that applies here. This is much lower than the S$1,875,580 that the TDSR test would allow. The monthly payment works out to S$4,695 at a 3% interest rate. This is 26.1% of the stated S$18,000 monthly income. At the 4% stress rate, the monthly payment would be S$5,226. The mortgage servicing ratio does not apply here.

The Cost Of Holding The Home For Five Years

Owning a home costs more than just the monthly loan payment. Other costs include interest, property tax, maintenance, and fees paid when buying and selling. The calculation tool uses stated assumptions for these. It assumes the home is sold after five years at today's estimated mid-range value. It assumes a seller's commission of 2%, plus S$3,000 in legal fees, plus 9% GST (a tax added to certain fees). It calculates interest using a standard loan repayment schedule at 3% on the full S$990,000 loan. It also includes property tax based on an assumed annual value of S$45,900.

The table below shows the total cost over five years.

Over five years, the total cost comes to S$235,072. This is made up of S$138,186 in interest, S$24,170 in property tax and maintenance, S$40,670 in costs when buying, and S$32,046 in costs when selling. Based on these assumptions, the home's price would need to rise by 18.2% over five years for the sale to cover the cost of holding it. This percentage is simply based on the stated cost assumptions. It is not a prediction of what prices will actually do.

How Stamp Duty Changes With The Buyer Profile

In the table below, the price stays the same in every row. Only the buyer's residency status and number of homes owned change. The buyer's stamp duty stays the same no matter the buyer's profile. But the additional buyer's stamp duty changes.

The table below compares four types of buyers, all at a price of S$1,320,000.

As the table shows, a citizen buying a first home pays S$37,400 in total stamp duty. A citizen buying a second home pays S$301,400 in total. This includes an additional buyer's stamp duty of 20%, adding S$264,000, and the LTV loan limit drops to 45.0%. A permanent resident buying a first home pays S$103,400, based on a 5% additional rate. A foreigner buying a home pays S$829,400, based on a 60% additional rate. These rates come from the site's stored data. They were checked against IRAS and MAS publications on 18 September 2026. The most recent version used here took effect on 4 July 2025.

The Sales Behind The Median

A median price is only as useful as the sales behind it. District 1 covers Raffles Place, Marina and Cecil. The group of homes looked at here is sized 60 to 99 sqm (square metres).

The table below summarises the quarter's sales for that group of homes.

There were 23 sales of this type in Q2 2026. The median price was S$1,320,000. The median price per square foot was S$1,793. The median size was 753 sqft. A year earlier, the median price was S$1,740,000. This is a change of -24.1%. With only 23 sales in the quarter, a shift in which homes or sizes were sold can move the median on its own. So this year-on-year change reflects the middle of a small group of sales. It does not describe the path of any single home's value.

Summary

At the Q2 2026 median price of S$1,320,000 for a 60 to 99 sqm private home in District 1, this example gives a stamp duty of S$37,400 for a citizen buying their first home. The maximum loan is S$990,000, based on the 75% loan-to-value limit. S$367,400 is needed before the loan is given, of which at least S$66,000 must be in cash. The monthly payment is S$4,695 at a 3% interest rate. This is 26.1% of the stated S$18,000 monthly income. At the 4% stress rate, this rises to S$5,226. Over five years, holding the home costs S$235,072 in total, based on the stated assumptions.

These figures are for illustration only. They are drawn from recorded sales and the rules as recorded, not a valuation of any specific home. They describe one price point, one buyer profile, one loan length and one interest rate. A different size, project, buyer profile or interest rate would give different numbers. The median price itself is based on only 23 sales. So it describes the middle of a small group of sales, not any one particular home.

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 with a stated household income of S$18,000 a month and no other debt, borrowing 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 (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$990,000 (75% of the price), the maximum available; property tax on an assumed annual value of S$45,900 (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.