Buying a new launch condominium in Singapore means committing to a property that may not be habitable for 3–5 years. Unlike resale purchases where your full loan repayments begin immediately and are predictable, the Progressive Payment Scheme ties your loan drawdown schedule to 8 construction milestones — each certified by a licensed architect before the developer can call for the next payment. For a $1.5 million purchase with a 75% loan, this means your outstanding loan balance grows from zero to $1.125 million over approximately 36–48 months, with interest charged only on the amount drawn at each stage. The practical result is that your monthly financial obligation doubles or triples between booking and TOP, a cash flow step-change that requires careful planning.
The single most important number this calculator reveals is your total construction-period interest — the cumulative cost you pay while the development is being built and before you can move in or rent out the unit. For a $1.5M purchase at 75% LTV and 3.5% p.a. interest over a 36-month construction period, this figure typically lands between $55,000 and $75,000 depending on how quickly the developer calls each tranche. This is money that generates no return: you are not living in the property, not earning rent, and not building equity through principal repayment. It is pure carry cost, and it needs to be factored into your total acquisition cost alongside stamp duty and legal fees.
The most common mistake new launch buyers make is anchoring on the interest-only monthly payments in the early construction stages. When the foundation tranche is drawn (10% of loan = ~$112,500), your monthly interest is only about $328/month — seemingly trivial. By the time the reinforced concrete framework is complete and Partition Walls certified (cumulative drawdown 35% = ~$394,000), monthly interest has grown to roughly $1,148. At TOP (cumulative 85% = ~$956,000), you transition to full monthly repayments of $4,000–$5,500 — a 5–10x increase from where you started. Buyers who did not model this step-up often find themselves stretching their monthly budget significantly at exactly the moment they also face renovation costs and moving expenses.
Run this calculator alongside the New Launch vs Resale Calculator to understand whether the total cost of the progressive scheme makes the new launch financially worthwhile versus an equivalent resale. For a holistic view of your financing capacity at TOP, use the Affordability Calculator to confirm your income and TDSR can absorb the full monthly repayment before you exercise the OTP.