The Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio is the maximum share of a property's value — or purchase price, whichever is lower — that a lender will finance. As of 2026-06, bank loans on private property are capped at 75% LTV for a first housing loan, falling sharply to 45% and 35% for subsequent outstanding loans. HDB concessionary loans are capped at 80% LTV.
Every Singapore property buyer eventually faces the same arithmetic: the bank will not cover the full purchase price, and the gap between what it will lend and what you must pay upfront determines whether a deal is viable. That gap is governed by the Loan-to-Value ratio — one of the most consequential numbers in any property transaction, yet one of the most frequently misunderstood. Get LTV wrong and you may arrive at the signing table short of cash.
What LTV Means
The Loan-to-Value ratio expresses the maximum loan amount as a percentage of the lower of two figures: the property's purchase price or its market valuation. If a private condominium is transacted at S$1.5 million but the bank's valuer assesses it at S$1.4 million, the LTV cap applies to S$1.4 million — not the transacted price. A 75% LTV cap on S$1.4 million means the bank will lend at most S$1.05 million; the buyer must fund the remaining S$450,000 (plus any shortfall between valuation and price) from cash and CPF savings.
Why MAS Sets LTV Limits
The Monetary Authority of Singapore introduced and periodically adjusts LTV limits as part of its macro-prudential toolkit. The rationale is straightforward: by limiting how much a bank can lend relative to collateral value, regulators ensure that even a meaningful fall in property prices leaves the loan adequately secured. For borrowers, the LTV cap simultaneously acts as a forced savings discipline — you cannot purchase unless you have already accumulated a meaningful downpayment. LTV rules are published under MAS Notice 632 (for banks) and form part of the broader set of property cooling measures that also include the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) for HDB loans. See MAS Notice 632 — Residential Property Loans for the full regulatory text.
LTV vs Downpayment — The Inverse Relationship
Understanding LTV is easiest when you flip it: if the LTV cap is 75%, your minimum downpayment is 25%. For a private property bank loan, at least 5 percentage points of that 25% must be paid in cash (as of 2026-06); the remainder can be cash or CPF Ordinary Account savings. As the LTV cap falls — because you already have an outstanding housing loan, or because your loan tenure is long — the downpayment requirement rises correspondingly, and the cash component within that downpayment also increases.
What Does It Mean?
Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio is the maximum percentage of a property's value that a bank will lend. In Singapore, the maximum LTV is 75% for the first housing loan with no outstanding loans, 45% for the second, and 35% for the third and subsequent loans.
Current Rates
| Loan Situation | Max LTV | Min Cash Down |
|---|---|---|
| 1st housing loan, no outstanding | 75% | 5% (private) / 10% (HDB) |
| 1st housing loan, 1 outstanding | 45% | 25% |
| 2nd+ housing loan | 35% | 25% |
| HDB loan | 80% | N/A (CPF only) |
LTV limits apply to all residential property loans in Singapore. The remaining balance must be paid in cash and/or CPF.
Worked Example
For a $1,500,000 property with your first housing loan:
Why It Matters
LTV limits directly determine how much cash and CPF you need upfront. With a second outstanding loan, the LTV drops to 45%, meaning you need 55% down — over $800,000 on a $1.5M property.
Where to Find This on ShiokNest
- Mortgage Calculator
- TDSR Calculator
Look for the tooltip icon next to this metric on ShiokNest for a quick reminder of its definition.
Official Sources
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Bank Loan LTV Caps for Private Property (as of 2026-06)
The LTV limits for bank loans on private residential property are tiered by the number of outstanding housing loans the borrower holds at the time of application. Outstanding means the loan has not yet been fully repaid — simply owning a second property mortgage-free does not attract the lower cap.
- First housing loan (no outstanding loans): Maximum LTV 75% (as of 2026-06). Minimum downpayment 25%, of which at least 5% must be cash.
- Second outstanding housing loan: Maximum LTV 45% (as of 2026-06). Minimum downpayment 55%, of which at least 25% must be cash.
- Third or more outstanding housing loans: Maximum LTV 35% (as of 2026-06). Minimum downpayment 65%, of which at least 25% must be cash.
The jump from a first to a second outstanding loan is particularly acute: the LTV cap drops 30 percentage points. On a S$2 million property, that shift moves the required downpayment from S$500,000 to S$1.1 million — more than doubling the upfront capital needed.
The Tenure and Age Reduction (as of 2026-06)
Even on a first housing loan, the 75% cap is reduced if either of the following applies: (a) the loan tenure exceeds 30 years, or (b) the loan tenure extends beyond the borrower's 65th birthday. In either case, the maximum LTV drops to 55% (as of 2026-06), and the minimum cash downpayment rises to 10%. Borrowers who are older or who seek longer repayment windows must therefore build a larger cash and CPF buffer. This rule discourages households from taking on large long-duration mortgages close to retirement and is set out in MAS Notice 632.
HDB Concessionary Loan LTV (as of 2026-06)
For buyers financing an HDB flat with an HDB concessionary loan — available only to eligible Singapore Citizens purchasing directly from HDB or in the open resale market under qualifying conditions — the LTV limit is 80% (as of 2026-06). This was reduced from 85% in August 2024 as part of a package of property cooling measures. Under an HDB loan at 80% LTV, buyers must fund at least 20% of the lower of purchase price or HDB's assessed value. Importantly, the entire downpayment can be paid using CPF Ordinary Account savings; no mandatory cash component applies (though buyers must have exhausted their CPF before receiving the HDB loan disbursement). The current HDB loan LTV rules are detailed at HDB — Housing Loan from HDB. CPF usage rules governing how much of the downpayment and monthly instalments can come from CPF are set out at CPF Board — Using Your CPF for Your Home.
LTV, TDSR and MSR — How They Interact
LTV is a collateral-side constraint; it limits how much you can borrow relative to what you are buying. TDSR and MSR are income-side constraints; they cap the monthly debt obligations a borrower may carry relative to gross income. In practice, borrowers are subject to all applicable limits simultaneously — whichever produces the lower loan quantum governs. A buyer with modest income may find TDSR binds before they reach the LTV ceiling; a buyer with strong income but a short remaining CPF balance may find LTV binds first. Use the mortgage calculator to model loan quantum, monthly repayment and the cash-CPF split under different LTV scenarios, and the affordability calculator to layer in TDSR and MSR constraints simultaneously.
How to Apply LTV Knowledge to Your Purchase
- Confirm your outstanding loan count before committing. If you are upgrading and your existing home loan will still be outstanding on completion of the new purchase, you will face the 45% LTV cap — not 75%. Plan your sale-purchase sequencing accordingly or engage a mortgage broker early.
- Check the bank's valuation, not just the listing price. LTV is applied to the lower of price or valuation. If you offer above valuation, the excess must be funded entirely in cash — it cannot be borrowed or covered by CPF. Request a bank indicative valuation (IPA) before submitting an option to purchase.
- Model the cash requirement for a long tenure or late-age loan. If your mortgage will run past your 65th birthday, the LTV cap falls to 55% (as of 2026-06) and the mandatory cash portion doubles. Use the mortgage calculator to see exactly how much cash you will need at different tenure lengths.
- Maximise your CPF OA balance before legal completion. For bank loans, CPF can fund the portion of the downpayment above the cash minimum. Topping up your CPF via Voluntary Contribution or transferring from Special Account (if eligible) before completion can reduce the cash you need to bring to the table.
- Understand the HDB loan 80% LTV transition. If you previously relied on a 85% HDB loan assumption (pre-August 2024), recalculate your required CPF/cash buffer — the extra 5% on a S$500,000 flat is S$25,000 that must now come from your own resources.
- Compare LTV implications across property types. Private property, Executive Condominiums and HDB resale flats each have different LTV regimes. The affordability calculator lets you compare scenarios side by side before you narrow your search.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does refinancing reset my LTV limit?
Is HDB loan LTV higher than bank loan?
Can I use CPF to cover my entire downpayment?
It depends on the loan type. For an HDB concessionary loan (80% LTV as of 2026-06), the full 20% downpayment can come from CPF Ordinary Account savings — no cash minimum is required. For a bank loan on private property, at least 5% (or 10% if the tenure is long or extends past age 65) must be paid in cash; the rest of the minimum downpayment may come from CPF. Any gap between a bank's valuation and the transacted price must also be covered fully in cash, as it cannot be financed or drawn from CPF.
This glossary article is auto-generated from ShiokNest's financial data and updated periodically. Rates and figures are current as of March 2026. Check official sources for the latest.