Budget 2024 (16 Feb 2024) refined property tax annual-value brackets for high-value owner-occupied homes, left ABSD rates unchanged from the April 2023 cooling measures, and improved HDB grant ceilings — setting a stable policy floor that shaped 2024’s market and underpins conditions buyers navigate in 2026.
Singapore’s Budget 2024 arrived at a pivotal juncture. The landmark April 2023 cooling measures — which pushed the foreigner ABSD to 60% and the Singapore Citizen second-property rate to 20% — had already reshaped buyer behaviour. By February 2024, transaction volumes were cooling but the market had not collapsed: the trailing-12-month figure of 22,704 transactions reflected a market that had absorbed the shock and found a new equilibrium. The Core Central Region (CCR) average of $2,426 PSF represented the cycle’s post-correction floor, far off 2022 peaks yet still well above pre-pandemic levels (as of 2024-02).
Budget 2024 was delivered on 16 February 2024 by then-Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong — his last Budget in that role before becoming Prime Minister in May 2024. Themed “Building Our Shared Future Together,” it was characterised by fiscal prudence rather than stimulus. On the property front, DPM Wong made three focused interventions: a recalibration of property tax annual-value (AV) brackets for owner-occupied private homes, targeted relief for senior singles, and improvements to the HDB grant framework. Critically, no new demand-side cooling measures were introduced, nor were any unwound — a deliberate signal that the 2023 cooling-measure framework would remain intact (as of 2024-02).
From the vantage point of May 2026, Budget 2024 reads as a bridging document: it absorbed the fallout from two years of aggressive property-tax increases (AVs had surged as rental markets ran hot in 2022–2023) and fine-tuned the HDB social compact, while deliberately preserving the anti-speculation architecture that defined post-2023 Singapore real estate.
- Budget 2024 Property Analysis
- Current 3M SORA: 3.25%
- CCR Avg PSF: $2,426 psf
- Total market volume (12mo): 22,704
Current ABSD Rates
The Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a key cooling measure that significantly affects property purchase costs, especially for second properties and foreign buyers. See IRAS ABSD rates for official details.
| Buyer Profile | ABSD Rate |
|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen — 1st property | 0% |
| Singapore Citizen — 2nd property | 20% |
| Singapore Citizen — 3rd+ property | 30% |
| Permanent Resident — 1st property | 5% |
| Permanent Resident — 2nd property | 30% |
| Permanent Resident — 3rd+ property | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% |
| Entity / Trust | 65% |
Buyer's Stamp Duty Schedule
BSD applies to all property purchases in Singapore, calculated on a progressive tiered basis. Refer to IRAS BSD rates for the official schedule.
| Purchase Price Bracket | BSD Rate |
|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 ($180k–$360k) | 2% |
| Next $640,000 ($360k–$1M) | 3% |
| Next $500,000 ($1M–$1.5M) | 4% |
| Next $1,500,000 ($1.5M–$3M) | 5% |
| Amount exceeding $3,000,000 | 6% |
Mortgage Impact Scenarios
How different SORA rate movements affect monthly mortgage payments. Current base rate: 3M SORA (3.25%) + 0.75% bank spread = 4.00%. All scenarios assume a 25-year tenure.
| Loan Amount | -0.50% (3.50%) | -0.25% (3.75%) | Current (4.00%) | +0.25% (4.25%) | +0.50% (4.50%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000 | $5,006 | $5,141 | $5,278 | $5,417 | $5,558 |
| $1,500,000 | $7,509 | $7,712 | $7,918 | $8,126 | $8,337 |
| $2,000,000 | $10,012 | $10,283 | $10,557 | $10,835 | $11,117 |
Current Market Context
Market performance by segment over the trailing 12 months. Data sourced from URA REALIS.
Historical Budget Property Measures
Key property-related policy changes in recent years.
Policy Timeline
The sharpest ABSD hike in Singapore history doubled the foreign buyer rate from 30% to 60%, with entity rate rising to 65%.
SC 2nd property rose from 17% to 20%, PR 1st remained unchanged at 5%, PR 2nd from 25% to 30%. Wait-out period considerations tightened.
TDSR threshold tightened from 60% to 55%. HDB loan LTV lowered. 15-month wait for private downgraders from HDB.
ABSD raised by 5 percentage points across all categories. Non-individual entity ABSD raised to 25% (plus 5% non-remittable).
MAS introduced the 60% TDSR framework to ensure borrowers do not over-leverage across all debt obligations.
Property tax bracket recalibration. The headline property measure in Budget 2024 was an adjustment to the annual-value (AV) bands used to compute owner-occupier residential property tax, effective 1 January 2025. The reform had a specific problem to solve: elevated rents in 2022–2023 had pushed the assessed AVs of many private properties into higher tax brackets, resulting in owner-occupiers — who do not receive rental income — paying tax at rates originally designed for investment-grade holdings. The AV band revision addressed this by widening the brackets, most consequentially at the top. Separately, the tax-free AV threshold was raised from $8,000 to $12,000 — a measure that benefited virtually all HDB owner-occupiers and insulated more than 90% of private owner-occupied homes from the full impact of elevated assessed values. IRAS property tax details the schedule; for a comprehensive breakdown, run the numbers with the property tax calculator (as of 2024-02).
ABSD: no change, and that itself was the signal. Budget 2024 introduced zero changes to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty rates. The April 2023 schedule — foreigners 60%, Singapore Citizens on second property 20%, third and subsequent 30%, Permanent Residents on first property 5%, second and subsequent 30% — remained fully intact. The only ABSD-related measure was an extension of the remission framework: single Singaporeans aged 55 and above were given the right to claim an ABSD refund if they sold their first property within six months of purchasing a lower-value replacement private residential unit. This was a targeted carve-out for right-sizing seniors, not a broad relaxation. For buyers calculating their total acquisition cost, the BSD / ABSD stamp duty calculator provides instant estimates (as of 2024-02).
HDB grant landscape and the August 2024 follow-through. Budget 2024 itself signalled intent on HDB affordability, and the government followed through with substantive grant increases announced in August 2024 (outside the Budget statement but consistent with its direction). The Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) ceiling for first-timer families was raised to S$120,000 — up from the previous S$80,000 — while the EHG for singles was increased to S$60,000 from S$40,000. HDB’s new Standard, Plus, and Prime classification framework, previewed by DPM Wong, introduced location-linked subsidies with clawback provisions on resale — a structural change designed to preserve long-run BTO affordability in well-located estates. Also of note: August 2024 saw HDB’s loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for HDB housing loans reduced from 80% to 75%, adding a further demand-cooling lever specific to the public housing segment (as of 2024-08).
What 22,704 transactions meant for market liquidity. The trailing-12-month private residential transaction count of 22,704 at the time of Budget 2024 represented a market that had meaningfully decelerated from the 2021–2022 frenzy but had not broken down. Liquidity was adequate: properties were transacting, financing was accessible (3M SORA at 3.25% added roughly $139 per month to debt-servicing costs for every $100,000 of loan on a 25-year tenor), and the price floor was holding. The CCR at $2,426 PSF in 2024 was a data point that suggested institutional-grade buyers still saw value at that level. URA’s Property Market Information portal publishes transaction-level data that allows buyers and analysts to track how volume has evolved since 2024 (as of 2024-Q1).
Mortgage context. Budget 2024 did not address mortgage rates directly — that sits with MAS and the SORA benchmark — but the 3.25% environment was the operative cost-of-capital at the time. For buyers stress-testing scenarios at the 2024 rate level, the mortgage calculator provides a live model.
[
{
"buyer_type": "Singapore Citizen — 1st property",
"action": "Zero ABSD applies; BSD is the primary stamp-duty cost. At the 2024-era CCR average of $2,426 PSF, a 1,000 sq ft unit ($2.43M) incurs BSD of approximately $77,600 under the prevailing schedule. The property-tax AV band recalibration benefits owner-occupiers at the top of the market: the new $12,000 tax-free threshold and expanded top-bracket bands reduce the effective tax rate for high-AV homes from 2025 onwards."
},
{
"buyer_type": "Singapore Citizen — 2nd property",
"action": "ABSD of 20% remains in force, unchanged from the April 2023 increase. On a $2M purchase, this equates to $400,000 in upfront ABSD — the single largest cost item above BSD. The only Budget 2024 relief for this cohort is the senior-singles remission (age 55+, replacement property must be lower-value). All other second-property buyers must factor the full 20% into their acquisition model."
},
{
"buyer_type": "High-value owner-occupier",
"action": "The property-tax AV band recalibration is directly relevant. Owners whose properties carry an assessed AV above $30,000 benefit from the widened top-bracket bands effective 2025, as well as the IRAS 24-month interest-free instalment plan available to eligible retirees. Review your IRAS Notice of Annual Value to confirm your band, and run projections using the property-tax calculator to quantify the 2025 saving relative to 2024 bills."
},
{
"buyer_type": "HDB upgrader",
"action": "The August 2024 EHG increase to $120,000 for eligible first-timer families improved the starting equity position for HDB buyers and therefore the eventual upgrade-to-private calculus. However, the HDB LTV reduction to 75% (August 2024) requires larger cash or CPF down payments on HDB loans. Upgraders should map their full CPF OA balance, accrued interest obligations, and grant entitlements before committing to a condo purchase."
},
{
"buyer_type": "Foreigner",
"action": "The 60% ABSD rate for foreign buyers established in April 2023 was entirely unchanged by Budget 2024, and remained at that level through 2025 and into 2026. On a $3M CCR purchase, the ABSD alone is $1.8M. The senior-singles remission introduced in Budget 2024 is available to Singapore Citizens only. Foreigners considering Singapore residential exposure should model the full acquisition cost — including BSD at the standard schedule — against expected capital appreciation and rental yield before proceeding."
}
]
- Run your stamp duty costs through the BSD / ABSD stamp duty calculator — the 2024-era BSD/ABSD schedule applied to your target price and buyer profile is the most critical single number in any Singapore acquisition model.
- Model your property tax liability under the revised AV bands (effective 2025) using the property tax calculator — particularly relevant for high-AV CCR and prime RCR owner-occupiers who were caught by bracket-creep in 2023–2024.
- Stress-test your mortgage at varying SORA levels using the mortgage calculator — the 3.25% environment of Budget 2024 has since evolved; model both a rate-decrease and a rate-increase scenario to bracket your exposure.
- HDB upgraders: model the updated EHG ceilings and the August 2024 LTV change via the HDB grant calculator to establish your realistic purchase envelope before visiting showflats.
- Review your CPF OA position and accrued interest obligations with the CPF optimizer — the gap between CPF refund obligations on HDB sale and the ABSD/BSD quantum on the new private purchase is the hidden pressure point that causes many upgrade plans to stall.
- Read the IRAS property tax guidance to confirm your assessed AV, understand the owner-occupier vs non-owner-occupier rate differential, and verify whether the 2025 AV band recalibration results in a lower bill compared to your 2024 assessment.
The bear case: Budget 2024 was structurally incrementalist on property. No ABSD relief, no LTV easing, no stamp-duty concessions for first-time private buyers. Critics argued the government was leaving demand unnecessarily suppressed at a moment when the 2023 cooling measures had already done their work — the market had decelerated, and a more calibrated response might have included partial ABSD reductions to stimulate genuine owner-occupation. The property-tax AV band adjustments, while real, were deferred to 2025 and did not address the immediate 2024 tax bills of those caught by the prior-year AV surge. The net effect: budget-constrained buyers remained on the sideline, contributing to the below-trend volume that persisted through H1 2024 (as of 2024-Q2).
The bull case: Stable policy is stimulus for capital-allocating buyers. When ABSD rates are known, BSD schedules are fixed, and property-tax treatment is transparent, buyers can underwrite with confidence. The absence of new cooling measures in Budget 2024 was, in this reading, a positive: it validated that the April 2023 framework was holding, that the government did not feel the need to reach for additional levers, and that the cost basis for a property purchase made in early-to-mid 2024 would be durable. The CCR floor at $2,426 PSF proved correct — values subsequently recovered through H2 2024 and into 2025, rewarding buyers who acted on that certainty rather than waiting for a policy catalyst that never came.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Singapore Budget 2024 affect property buyers?
What are the current ABSD rates for Singapore citizens?
How does SORA affect my mortgage in 2024?
Should I buy property before or after Budget Day?
What did Singapore Budget 2024 change for property?
Budget 2024 (delivered 16 February 2024 by then-DPM Lawrence Wong) made three property-relevant changes: (1) adjusted the annual-value brackets for owner-occupier residential property tax, effective 1 January 2025, raising the tax-free AV threshold from $8,000 to $12,000 and widening the top AV bands to prevent bracket-creep from 2022–2023 rent-driven AV increases; (2) extended ABSD remission to single Singaporeans aged 55 and above purchasing a lower-value replacement private property; and (3) signalled support for HDB affordability through the Standard, Plus, Prime BTO framework. ABSD rates and BSD schedules were unchanged (as of 2024-02).
How did property tax brackets shift in Budget 2024?
The owner-occupier residential property tax AV bands were widened, effective 1 January 2025. The most significant change was at the top: the highest AV band was expanded by up to 50%, ensuring that owners of high-value homes did not face disproportionate rate step-ups driven by the rental-market-induced AV surge of 2022–2023. The tax-free AV threshold rose from $8,000 to $12,000. The combined effect: all owner-occupied HDB flats and over 90% of owner-occupied private properties paid less tax in 2025 than they would have under the pre-Budget AV band structure (as of 2024-02).
What HDB grants changed around Budget 2024?
The major grant increases were announced in August 2024, consistent with directions set in Budget 2024. The Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) for first-timer families was raised to a maximum of $120,000 (from $80,000), and for singles to $60,000 (from $40,000). Total available grant support for eligible first-timer families reached up to $230,000. Separately, the HDB loan LTV ratio was reduced from 80% to 75% in August 2024, requiring larger down payments for buyers using HDB financing (as of 2024-08).
How does Budget 2024 compare to Budget 2026 in property terms?
Budget 2024 was primarily a tax-bracket and social-compact refinement: no ABSD changes, targeted property-tax relief, and grant improvements for HDB buyers. Its defining characteristic from a market perspective was the absence of new cooling measures — a stabilising signal after the aggressive April 2023 adjustments. By the time of Budget 2026, the market had recovered through 2025 and the policy conversation had shifted to managing renewed price pressures in the OCR and RCR segments, with discussions centring on whether the 60% foreigner ABSD remains appropriate given changed global capital flows (as of 2026-02).
What was the property market volume in 2024 and why does it matter?
The trailing-12-month private residential transaction count at the time of Budget 2024 stood at 22,704 — a meaningful deceleration from the 2021–2022 peak years but still a liquid market. This volume figure matters for several reasons: it signals that the 2023 cooling measures had achieved their intended effect (reduced speculative demand) without triggering a hard landing; it provides the base denominator for understanding 2025 and 2026 volume trends; and it contextualises the CCR price floor of $2,426 PSF — buyers who transacted at or near that level in 2024 have since seen moderate appreciation as volumes recovered. URA publishes quarterly and monthly transaction data via the URA Property Data portal (as of 2024-Q1).
Methodology & Sources
Figures below are drawn from Budget 2024 property impact and revised annually.
Transaction data sourced from URA REALIS.
- ABSD rates: IRAS ABSD.
- SORA rates: MAS SORA dashboard.
- Transaction data: URA REALIS.
We report medians (not means) so a single outlier transaction cannot skew district-level figures. PSF = price per square foot.