Home/Guides/TDSR & MSR/How much can I borrow?
TDSR Topic Spoke

How Much Housing Loan Can I Get?

Last reviewed:

The 4 inputs that determine your loan

  1. Gross monthly income (basic + 70% of variable)
  2. Existing monthly debt (car, cards, student, personal)
  3. Property type (HDB / EC / private) — determines MSR applicability and stress rate
  4. Loan tenure (years) — affects monthly instalment and LTV via age

And one constraint that may override all of these: LTV (Loan-to-Value) based on the property price.

Step-by-step calculation

  1. Compute effective income:
    effective income = fixed monthly + (0.7 × variable monthly average)
  2. Compute TDSR cap:
    TDSR cap = 0.55 × effective income − existing monthly debt
  3. Compute MSR cap (HDB / EC only):
    MSR cap = 0.30 × effective income
  4. Binding instalment:
    binding = min(TDSR cap, MSR cap if applicable)
  5. Stress-rate max loan from binding instalment:
    r = stress rate / 12   (4% private; 3% HDB)
n = tenure × 12
max loan from income = binding × (1 − (1+r)^(−n)) / r
  6. Apply LTV cap:
    LTV cap × property price = max loan from LTV
actual max loan = min(max loan from income, max loan from LTV)

Worked example — couple buying $1.5M private condo

  • Combined income: $15,000 fixed + $5,000/month variable average
  • Effective income: $15,000 + 0.7 × $5,000 = $18,500
  • Existing debt: $1,200/month (car loan)
  • TDSR cap: 0.55 × $18,500 − $1,200 = $10,175 − $1,200 = $8,975/month
  • MSR: not applicable (private)
  • Tenure: 25 years; stress rate: 4%
  • Max loan from income: $8,975 × 189.45 = $1,700,304
  • LTV cap (first home, bank): 75% × $1,500,000 = $1,125,000
  • Actual max loan: $1,125,000 (LTV-binding)
  • Cash + CPF needed: $1,500,000 − $1,125,000 = $375,000 (≥ 5% cash = $75,000)
  • Plus BSD $44,600 — out of pocket

What if I'm over-leveraged?

If your TDSR / MSR computation gives a negative or very small binding instalment, the bank will not lend. Options:

  • Pay down existing debt before applying
  • Apply jointly with a higher-income co-borrower
  • Choose a lower-priced property to reduce required loan
  • Extend tenure (within age limits) — at cost of higher total interest

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

How is my maximum housing loan in Singapore calculated?▾

Maximum loan = the lower of (a) what your income can support under TDSR / MSR, computed at the stress-test rate; and (b) the LTV cap × property price. Different rules apply for first home, second home, third+, and for HDB vs private. Lenders also apply credit overlays — past defaults, employment stability, asset quality — that can further reduce the actual approval.

What income do banks use — basic salary or total compensation?▾

Fixed monthly basic salary counts at 100%. Variable income (bonus, commission, freelance, rental, dividends) is haircut to 70% before being added. So a borrower with $8,000 fixed + $30,000 annual bonus has effective income of $8,000 + 70% × $2,500/month = $9,750 for TDSR / MSR.

What's the maximum LTV for a first home in Singapore?▾

Bank loan: 75% LTV (so you need 25% downpayment, minimum 5% cash). HDB Concessionary Loan: 80% LTV (20% downpayment, no cash minimum if fully funded from CPF). For a second housing loan, LTV drops to 45% (or 25% if loan tenure goes past age 65). For third+: 35% (or 15% with extended tenure).

Can I extend the tenure to borrow more?▾

Up to a point. Bank loans for private: max 30 years (35 with conditions). Bank loans for HDB: max 25 years (30 with conditions). HDB Concessionary Loan: 25 years. BUT if the loan tenure causes the borrower's age at end of loan to exceed 65, the LTV is reduced (75% → 55% private; 80% → 55% HDB). So extending tenure to borrow more often backfires through LTV reduction.

Do I get less loan if I'm older?▾

Yes. Age affects loan tenure (and thus monthly instalment) in two ways: (a) maximum tenure is capped so total loan period + age ≤ 75 generally; (b) tenure that goes past age 65 reduces the LTV cap. A 50-year-old buying a private home with a 30-year tenure would push to age 80 — likely beyond what the bank will lend at the full LTV.