Buying property in Singapore as a Brit: condos, 60% ABSD and why most of us rent
You can buy a condo in Singapore on an Employment Pass, but the stamp duty alone would buy a decent house in most of England.
The short version
- Foreigners can buy condominium units and private flats without approval. Landed homes (terraces, semi-detached houses, bungalows, including at Sentosa Cove) need government approval, which usually means five years as a PR and an exceptional economic contribution [1].
- Foreigners pay Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 60% on any home they buy, on top of Buyer's Stamp Duty of up to 6% [2][3].
- Permanent Residents pay 5% ABSD on a first home, 30% on a second and 35% on a third and beyond [2].
- Foreigners can't buy HDB flats. A household of PRs can buy a Standard (or older unclassified) HDB resale flat if everyone has been a PR for at least three years; Plus and Prime flats need a citizen [4].
- Sell within four years of buying (for purchases from 4 July 2025) and you'll also pay Seller's Stamp Duty [5].
What foreigners can and can't buy
Singapore's Residential Property Act limits what a "foreign person" can own. For this purpose, anyone who isn't a Singapore citizen counts as foreign, and that includes Permanent Residents [1]. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) splits homes into two groups [1]:
| You can buy without approval | You need SLA approval |
|---|---|
| Condominium units | Vacant residential land |
| Flats in private developments | Terraced, semi-detached and detached houses (bungalows) |
| Strata landed houses inside an approved condominium development | Townhouses and cluster houses outside an approved condo |
| A lease of a landed home of up to 7 years | Landed homes at Sentosa Cove |
| Executive condominium units and HDB flats, but only within HDB's own eligibility rules | Shophouses for non-commercial use |
Source: Singapore Land Authority, foreign ownership of property (updated 20 August 2025) [1].
Approval for landed property is case by case. The SLA says you should normally have been a PR for at least five years and must make an "exceptional economic contribution" to Singapore, looking at things such as your income assessable to tax here. Applications take about 30 working days once everything is in, and you can apply for in-principle approval before you've found a house [1]. For most Brits on an Employment Pass, that leaves the condo market: think River Valley, Novena, the East Coast or a new launch out in the suburbs.
Stamp duties: where it gets painful
Buyer's Stamp Duty
Everyone pays Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) on the higher of the price and the market value. From 15 February 2023, the residential rates are [3]:
| Slice of the price (SGD) | BSD rate |
|---|---|
| First 180,000 | 1% |
| Next 180,000 | 2% |
| Next 640,000 | 3% |
| Next 500,000 | 4% |
| Next 1,500,000 | 5% |
| Remaining amount | 6% |
Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty
ABSD sits on top and depends on who you are on the day you buy [2]:
| Buyer | First home | Second home | Third and later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore citizen | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| Singapore Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
Rates on or after 27 April 2023 [2].
Two rules catch couples. If you buy jointly with someone of a different profile, the highest rate applies to the whole property [2]. And you must actually hold PR status from ICA on the purchase date to get the PR rate: "it's in the post" doesn't count [2]. Duties are due within 14 days of signing if you sign in Singapore [6].
The only nationality concession on the IRAS ABSD page is for citizens of the United States, under the US–Singapore Free Trade Agreement [2]. British buyers pay the foreigner rate.
What that looks like
Take a condo at S$1.5 million (about £871,400):
| Foreigner | PR, first home | |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | S$44,600 (about £25,900) | S$44,600 (about £25,900) |
| ABSD | S$900,000 (about £522,800) | S$75,000 (about £43,600) |
| Total stamp duty | S$944,600 (about £548,700) | S$119,600 (about £69,500) |
Worked from the IRAS BSD and ABSD rate tables [2][3].
For comparison, buying a second home back in England means paying the surcharge for additional homes and, if you're non-resident, the non-resident surcharge as well, but nothing close to 60%. That's why most Brits on an Employment Pass rent and wait.
Seller's Stamp Duty
Singapore also taxes quick sales. For homes bought on or after 4 July 2025, Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) is 16% if you sell within a year, 12% in the second year, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth, and nothing after four years [5]. If you're on a three-year contract, that matters.
Mortgages
Singapore banks lend to foreigners, but the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sets firm limits [7]:
- Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR): no more than 55% of your gross monthly income can go on repaying all your debts, including the new mortgage.
- Loan tenure: up to 35 years for private property.
- Loan-to-value: the maximum loan depends on the tenure, your age and any existing housing loans.
Banks will also look at how long your pass has left to run. Don't expect a mortgage to cover the ABSD: budget for it on top of your deposit.
HDB flats: the PR route
Most Singaporeans live in HDB flats, the public housing blocks you'll see from every MRT line. Foreigners can't buy them. PRs can, with conditions [4]:
- Standard resale flats only, for PR-only households. A household of PRs with no Singapore citizen can buy Standard resale flats, and older resale flats sold before October 2024 that aren't classed as Plus or Prime, on the open market. New flats from HDB, and Plus and Prime resale flats, need a citizen in the household [4].
- Three years as a PR. All applicants and core occupiers in a PR household must have held PR status for at least three years.
- Get an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter first. It tells you whether you can buy, and what loan and grants you'd get.
- Sell any private home. If you own a private home in Singapore or abroad, including that flat in Manchester, you generally have to sell it within six months of buying a non-subsidised resale flat [4].
- Live in it. You must occupy the flat for the minimum occupation period [4].
Rule 4 is the one that trips Brits up. If you're not ready to sell your UK home, an HDB flat isn't for you. PRs can also use CPF Ordinary Account savings towards an HDB or private home; see our CPF guide.
Why most Brits rent
Put it all together and the maths is simple. A foreigner pays 60% ABSD, can't buy a house without approval, faces Seller's Stamp Duty for four years and may leave when the contract ends. A PR pays a much smaller 5% ABSD on a first home, but that usually takes years to reach. So most Brits rent first, become PRs if they stay, and buy later, if at all.
If you do buy, use a Singapore lawyer for the conveyancing. The FCDO's guide to living in Singapore warns that there are restrictions on what foreigners can own and suggests talking to a lawyer before you buy [8]. And keep the UK side in mind: if you let out your UK home while you're here, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme applies, and our guide to UK income while you live abroad explains it.
Members of our community group for Brits in Singapore who have made the jump from renting to owning are generous with their stories, so ask there before you sign an option to purchase.
Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = SGD 1.7214).
Sources
- Singapore Land Authority: Foreign ownership of property (updated 20 August 2025)
- IRAS: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD))
- IRAS: Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD))
- HDB: Flat, grant and loan eligibility for couples and families (read 11 November 2026)
- IRAS: Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) for residential property)
- IRAS: When to pay stamp duty
- Monetary Authority of Singapore: Rules for new housing loans
- GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Singapore (updated 18 February 2026)