Most people walk into a showflat focused entirely on the unit — the layout, the facing, the price psf. Far fewer arrive knowing that they may need a five-figure cheque in hand that same afternoon.
Buying a new launch condominium in Singapore works differently from buying a resale flat or apartment. You are buying something that does not exist yet, from a licensed developer, under a statutory framework that governs how and when you pay.
That framework is genuinely buyer-friendly. But it moves quickly at the start, and the people who struggle are almost always the ones who did not understand the sequence before they turned up.
This guide walks through the whole process — preview, booking, stamp duty, and the payment schedule that follows — so you know what happens and when the money leaves your account.
Stage One: Preview and Launch Are Not the Same Thing
Two words get used loosely, and the difference matters.
The preview is when the showflat opens for viewing. You can walk the units, study the floor plans and site plan, and discuss indicative pricing. You cannot yet book a unit. Previews typically run for one to two weeks.
The launch, sometimes called the booking day, is when units are actually released for sale and the official price list is published — often only a day or two beforehand.
The gap between the two is your window to do the work: shortlist your preferred stacks, arrange financing, and confirm your budget. Buyers who wait until launch day to think about which unit they want tend to make decisions in the worst possible conditions.
What to do during the preview window
- Get In-Principle Approval from a bank so you know your actual loan quantum
- Confirm your CPF Ordinary Account balance and what you can use
- Shortlist three to five units in order of preference, not one
- Work out your total upfront cash including stamp duty, not just the booking fee
- Ask which stacks face what, and at which levels the pricing steps up
Stage Two: Booking Day
For a project where demand exceeds supply, developers usually run a balloting or queue system. You register in advance, are assigned a ballot number or queue position, and are called in that order to select from whatever remains unsold at your turn.
This is exactly why a shortlist of one unit is a bad plan. By the time your number is called, your first choice may be gone.
When your turn comes and you select a unit, you pay a booking fee of 5 per cent of the purchase price and receive the Option to Purchase.
The booking fee must be paid in cash. It cannot come from your CPF Ordinary Account and it cannot be financed by your bank loan. On a $2 million unit, that is $100,000 that must be available as cleared funds on the day.
Stage Three: The Eight Weeks That Follow
Once you hold the Option to Purchase, a statutory clock starts.
The developer must deliver the Sale and Purchase Agreement, typically within about two weeks. You then have a defined period to exercise the option by signing and returning it, with your lawyer acting for you.
Within roughly eight weeks of the option date, a further 15 per cent of the purchase price falls due. Unlike the booking fee, this portion can come from CPF Ordinary Account savings, cash, or a combination.
So by the end of week eight you have paid 20 per cent of the purchase price in total — 5 per cent of it strictly cash.
If you do not exercise the option, you forfeit a portion of the booking fee, commonly 25 per cent of it, and the unit returns to the market. This is not a free reservation.
Stage Four: Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is the cost most first-time buyers underestimate, partly because it falls due quickly — generally within 14 days of the relevant document.
Buyer’s Stamp Duty
BSD applies to every buyer, regardless of nationality or how many properties you own. It is tiered:
| Portion of purchase price | Rate |
|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Next $640,000 | 3% |
| Next $500,000 | 4% |
| Next $1,500,000 | 5% |
| Remaining amount | 6% |
Residential BSD tiers. Computed on the higher of purchase price or market value.
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty
ABSD depends on your residency status and how many residential properties you already own. Under the schedule in force since 27 April 2023, the headline rates are:
| Buyer profile | 1st property | 2nd | 3rd & beyond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen | Nil | 20% | 30% |
| Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| Entity | 65% | 65% | 65% |
Indicative only. Rates change and remissions apply in specific circumstances. Verify your position with IRAS.
Two things worth knowing. Married couples with at least one Singapore Citizen spouse may qualify for ABSD remission on a matrimonial home, subject to conditions. And nationals of certain countries with free trade agreements may be entitled to the same treatment as Singapore Citizens.
Both are situation-specific. Confirm your own position with IRAS or a conveyancing lawyer before you commit to anything — not after.
A worked illustration. A Singapore Citizen buying a $2,000,000 unit as a first property would face BSD of roughly $69,600 and no ABSD.
Add the 5 per cent cash booking fee of $100,000, and the cash required in the opening weeks is meaningfully more than the booking fee alone. Stamp duty can generally be paid from CPF where available, but only if the funds are there.
Stage Five: The Progressive Payment Scheme
Here is where buying uncompleted property becomes genuinely advantageous.
Under the Housing Developers Rules, you do not pay the full price upfront. Payments are released in stages tied to verified construction milestones. The statutory schedule is:
| Stage | % of price |
|---|---|
| Booking fee, on grant of Option to Purchase | 5% |
| Signing of Sale & Purchase Agreement, within 8 weeks | 15% |
| Completion of foundation works | 10% |
| Completion of reinforced concrete framework | 10% |
| Completion of partition walls | 5% |
| Completion of roofing and ceiling | 5% |
| Completion of door and window frames, wiring and plumbing | 5% |
| Completion of car parks, roads and drains | 5% |
| Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) | 25% |
| Certificate of Statutory Completion, on legal completion | 15% |
Statutory schedule under the Housing Developers Rules. Confirm the exact schedule in your own Sale and Purchase Agreement.
The cash flow consequence is significant. Your bank disburses the loan progressively, so you are only servicing interest and principal on the amount actually drawn. Early instalments are small and step up at each milestone, reaching the full monthly repayment only after TOP and CSC.
When your first disbursement occurs depends on your loan-to-value ratio. On a 75 per cent loan, your cash and CPF cover the first 25 per cent, so the bank typically starts disbursing at the foundation stage. On a smaller loan, disbursement starts later.
The practical upside: for a project completing in four or five years, you hold a home you have largely not yet paid for, on modest early instalments, while your existing housing arrangements continue unchanged.
The practical downside: you are committed to a purchase years before you take possession, and your circumstances may change over that period. Interest rates, income and family needs all move. Buy on the assumption that they might.
Buying Later in the Project
One point that surprises people: if you buy well after launch, the earlier construction milestones may already have been passed.
In that case the developer calls for those stages together, shortly after you sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement. A buyer purchasing after the concrete framework is complete could face the foundation and framework payments — 20 per cent — at close to the same time as the initial 20 per cent.
It is not a penalty, simply the schedule catching up. But it changes your cash planning considerably, and it is worth asking where construction stands before committing.
Six Mistakes Worth Avoiding
- Budgeting for the booking fee but not the stamp duty. They arrive within weeks of each other.
- Shortlisting one unit. In a balloted launch you may be choosing from what remains.
- Arranging financing after booking. Get In-Principle Approval first, so you know your real ceiling.
- Assuming CPF covers everything. The booking fee is cash only, and CPF usage is subject to Board rules and limits.
- Overlooking the balcony and outdoor areas in the quoted size. Ask what the internal, furnishable area actually is.
- Treating the option period as a cooling-off window. Not exercising costs you a meaningful share of the booking fee.
The Sequence, End to End
- Preview — showflat opens, indicative pricing, one to two weeks
- Preparation — In-Principle Approval, CPF check, shortlist, budget
- Launch day — price list released, ballot or queue, unit selection
- Booking — 5% cash, Option to Purchase issued
- About 2 weeks — Sale and Purchase Agreement delivered
- Within about 3 weeks of S&P — exercise the option through your lawyer
- Within 14 days of the relevant document — stamp duty payable
- By about week 8 — a further 15% due
- Construction period — progressive payments at each milestone
- TOP — 25% due, keys collected, you can move in or lease it out
- CSC — final 15%, legal completion
Attending a preview soon?
The Serra Residences is a freehold development
The Bottom Line
The new launch process is more structured than it looks from outside. A statutory payment schedule, milestone-linked disbursements and a defined option period all work in the buyer’s favour — provided you understand the sequence before you are standing in a showflat with a queue number in your hand.
The two things that catch people out are almost always the same: the booking fee is cash only, and stamp duty follows close behind. Get those into your budget properly and the rest of the process is manageable.
Everything else is the part that actually deserves your attention — whether the unit, at that price, in that location, is the right home for you.
Sources: Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act and the Housing Developers Rules, for the statutory progressive payment schedule; Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, for Buyer’s Stamp Duty and Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty; CPF Board, for rules on the use of Ordinary Account savings.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice. Stamp duty rates, CPF rules and loan-to-value limits are set by the authorities and are subject to change without notice. Payment schedules and option periods may vary between developments — the terms of your own Option to Purchase and Sale and Purchase Agreement prevail. Always verify your specific position with IRAS, CPF Board, your bank and a qualified conveyancing lawyer before committing to a purchase.
