Buying Guide
How Much Home Loan Can You Get in Singapore (2026 Guide)
Before you fall for a showflat or a resale listing, one number decides whether the deal is even possible: your maximum home loan. Banks and HDB don't lend based on the price you're comfortable with. They lend based on three rules that cap your loan regardless of your income or the seller's asking price. Understanding them takes the guesswork out of house-hunting and stops you from wasting time on units you can't actually finance.
This guide breaks down the three limits, TDSR, MSR and LTV, with worked examples, then points you to a calculator that applies them to your own numbers.
The three limits that set your loan ceiling
1. Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR)
TDSR caps all your monthly debt repayments, including your home loan, car loans, student and renovation loans, credit card and other revolving loans, and any other property loans, at 55% of your gross monthly income. MAS requires banks and other financial institutions to apply it to any loan to buy a property or secured by a property (residential or not, in Singapore or overseas), and to refinancing of those loans. HDB says TDSR is not applicable to an HDB housing loan, where the 30% MSR described below applies instead.
If you earn $8,000 a month and have no other debt, your total monthly repayments across all loans can't exceed $4,400.
2. Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)
MSR is a tighter, second limit that applies to housing loans for HDB flats, and to executive condominiums (ECs) while the EC's Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) has not expired. It caps the repayment on all your property loans, including the one you are applying for, at 30% of gross monthly income. It does not count your non-property debts (those count in TDSR).
If MSR applies to you, it's usually the binding constraint, since 30% is stricter than TDSR's 55%.
3. Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit
LTV caps the loan as a percentage of the property's price or valuation, whichever is lower. The rest has to come from cash and/or CPF. For bank loans, MAS sets the limit by the number of outstanding housing loans the borrower already has (for OTPs granted on or after 6 July 2018):
| Loan source | Outstanding housing loans | LTV limit | Minimum cash downpayment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank loan | None | 75% (55% if tenure is longer than 30 years, or 25 years for an HDB flat, or the loan runs past age 65) | 5% (10% at 55% LTV) |
| Bank loan | 1 | 45% (25% if the lower-limit tenure or age condition applies) | 25% |
| Bank loan | 2 or more | 35% (15% if the lower-limit condition applies) | 25% |
| HDB loan | Eligible flat | 75%, pro-rated if the remaining lease can't cover the youngest applicant to age 95 | — |
MAS also caps the maximum bank loan tenure at 30 years for HDB flats and 35 years for non-HDB properties. For joint borrowers, banks use an income-weighted average age.
Eligible for an HDB loan and unsure which to pick? See HDB loan vs bank loan.
Want the TDSR vs MSR distinction spelled out on its own? Read our full TDSR vs MSR breakdown.
Worked example
Say a 32-year-old couple earns $11,000 combined, pays $600 a month on a car loan, and is buying a resale HDB flat with a bank loan.
- TDSR ceiling: 55% × $11,000 = $6,050 total debt repayment allowed. Minus the $600 car loan, that leaves $5,450 available for the home loan.
- MSR ceiling: 30% × $11,000 = $3,300 available for the home loan (assuming no other property loans). This is tighter than the TDSR figure, so it's the binding limit.
- Their maximum monthly mortgage repayment is $3,300, not $5,450.
That $3,300 a month is then converted to a loan amount using the interest rate and tenure. For TDSR and MSR, MAS requires banks to assess the new residential loan at the higher of a 4% floor and the "thereafter" interest rate (the highest rate the bank offers during the loan), not at the cheaper introductory rate. This is exactly what a loan calculator does for you instead of working it out by hand.
What shrinks your number without you realizing
- Existing loans and guarantor obligations. If you guarantee someone else's loan, at least 20% of that loan's monthly instalment counts in your debt obligations, even if you never make a payment.
- Loan tenure near the age cap. A loan that runs past age 65, or that is longer than 30 years (25 years for an HDB flat), drops you to the lower LTV limit, which cuts your loan. For HDB loans, a remaining lease that can't cover the youngest applicant to age 95 pro-rates the loan.
- Credit card and revolving debt. For an unsecured revolving loan such as a credit card, MAS tells banks to use the minimum payment due on your latest statement. If you can't provide a statement, the bank applies the monthly interest rate to your full credit limit instead.
- Variable and rental income. Banks must apply a minimum 30% haircut to variable income (such as commission, bonus and allowance) and to rental income, so at most 70% of it counts. Variable income is averaged over the preceding 12 months.
Run your own numbers through PropLeh's Max Loan Assessor to see your actual maximum loan before you start viewing units.
FAQ
Does TDSR or MSR apply to me?
If you're buying an HDB flat, or an EC while its MOP has not expired, both apply and the stricter one (usually MSR) binds. For private property, or an EC past its MOP, only TDSR applies.
Can I increase my maximum loan?
Paying down or closing other debt, such as car loans or personal loans, before applying raises your TDSR headroom. A longer tenure can raise the loan amount too, but it triggers the lower LTV tier if it crosses the age or tenure thresholds above.
Is the bank's number always lower than what I expect?
Usually, because most people forget to net out existing debt, the 4% assessment rate, and the income haircut on variable pay. Running the numbers before house-hunting avoids a last-minute surprise at the Option to Purchase stage.
Do these limits apply to foreigners and PRs?
MAS's TDSR and LTV rules apply to bank and financial-institution property loans to individuals regardless of citizenship. See MAS's TDSR framework for property loans, linked below.
Figures current as of October 2026. Always verify against the live MAS/HDB pages before relying on them, as ratios can be revised.
Run your own numbers through PropLeh's Max Loan Assessor to see your actual maximum loan before you start viewing units. If your number looks tight, or you're not sure which ratio applies to you, message us on WhatsApp and we'll walk through it with you.