New launch payment schedule: why the stage you buy at matters

When you book a home at a new launch, you do not pay for it all at once. Under the normal progressive payment scheme for uncompleted private homes, you pay a 5% booking fee for the option to purchase, the rest of the first 20% within eight weeks, and the remainder in instalments as the building reaches set construction stages—ending with 25% when the Temporary Occupation Permit is issued and 15% at statutory completion.

That sequence is why the stage you buy at matters. Booking at a fresh launch spreads the payments across the construction years. Buying in a project that is already built compresses them into weeks.

The figures below are illustrative. The payment terms that bind you are the ones in your own option and sale and purchase agreement.

The stages, in order

For a home sold under the normal scheme, the schedule set out in the housing developers’ rules runs:

1. 5% booking fee, when the option to purchase is granted
2. 15% within eight weeks of the option date
3. 10% on completion of the foundation
4. 10% on completion of the reinforced concrete framework
5. 5% on completion of the partition walls
6. 5% on completion of the roofing and ceiling
7. 5% on completion of door and window frames, electrical wiring, internal plastering and plumbing
8. 5% on completion of the car park, roads and drains
9. 25% when the Temporary Occupation Permit is issued
10. 15% on the Certificate of Statutory Completion

On an illustrative S$1.6 million home, the first two steps come to S$320,000, the six construction stages to S$640,000 and the final two to S$640,000.

What happens in the first eight weeks?

The developer grants the option to purchase when you pay the booking fee. The sale and purchase agreement should then reach you or your lawyer within two weeks, and you have three weeks from receiving it to exercise the option by signing. If you let the option lapse, the developer may keep up to a quarter of the booking fee: S$20,000 in the S$1.6 million example.

The 15% instalment falls due within eight weeks of the option date. Stamp duty has a separate deadline, explained in our stamp duty guide. URA’s guidance on buying property is the official starting point; your lawyer will map the actual dates for your purchase.

Where do the loan and CPF come in?

Your own money covers the early payments, and the bank loan usually begins with the construction stages. MAS limits how much banks may lend: for many first housing loans, up to 75% of the price, with at least 5% paid in cash, and lower limits for borrowers with existing loans, longer tenures or older ages. Banks also apply MAS’s total debt servicing ratio, which caps monthly debt repayments at 55% of gross monthly income.

You may be able to use CPF Ordinary Account savings for the non-cash part of the down payment and for loan instalments, within CPF’s limits. When you sell, the CPF savings used, plus accrued interest, must be returned to your CPF account.

Because interest is charged only on the amount disbursed, instalments on a progressive schedule usually start small and rise as construction advances. Ask your bank for a projected schedule rather than a single monthly figure.

Launch, mid-construction or completed: how the timing changes

Take the same illustrative S$1.6 million home and a 75% loan, bought at three different points:

• At launch, before construction: S$320,000 of your own funds within eight weeks and the rest of your 25% share at the foundation stage; the loan draws down over the construction years, and the keys arrive at completion.
• After the roofing stage: the same S$320,000, plus S$480,000 for the four stages already completed, falls due soon after purchase, so the loan is drawn much earlier and the wait for keys is shorter.
• After the Temporary Occupation Permit: most of the price falls due soon after purchase, on the dates your agreement sets, but you can inspect the finished home and neighbourhood before committing and move in far sooner.

Your own contribution is 25% of the price in each case. What changes is how long you carry two sets of housing costs, how quickly loan instalments reach their full level and how much you can see before you commit. Neither timing is cheaper by default; compare the exact units’ prices.

A comparison sheet for projects at different stages

When one project on your list is a fresh launch and another is nearly finished, compare them on the same rows:

• Price and scheme: the exact unit’s total price and the payment scheme it is sold under.
• Cash in the first eight weeks: booking fee, 15% instalment and stamp duty.
• Stages already reached: which instalments would fall due immediately.
• Expected keys: the developer’s stated date for vacant possession, and your plan if it moves.
• Overlap costs: rent or your current mortgage while you wait.

If a developer offers more than one payment scheme, ask for the total price under each in writing. Our project comparison guide shows how to keep evidence, preferences and unknowns in separate columns, and our household brief guide helps you decide how long you can wait for keys.

Common questions