Use CPF to buy private property: limits, fees and refund

You can use CPF to buy private property, including a new-launch condo. CPF says Ordinary Account (OA) savings can pay for the down payment, the housing loan, and stamp and legal fees, and its terms say CPF savings can meet a private home’s progressive payments when due while it is under construction. CPF savings cannot pay the option fee, and CPF’s down-payment FAQ lists a minimum 5% cash down payment.

For a private property bought with a bank loan, CPF’s limit is the lower of the purchase price and the valuation price, rising to 120% of that figure if you have set aside your Basic Retirement Sum (BRS). When you sell, you refund what you used plus accrued interest. This guide works one refund through in numbers and ends with a checklist. The S$ figures are illustrative, and this is general information, not financial advice.

What can Ordinary Account savings pay for on a new launch?

CPF says OA savings can be used to buy or build private residential property in Singapore, for the down payment and housing loan, and for stamp and legal fees. Its Housing Scheme terms (updated 7 September 2026) add that for private property OA can pay the developer or seller directly and cover the monthly instalments. CPF points to URA for eligibility; URA’s page on buying an uncompleted private home (updated 29 June 2026) advises asking your bank about financing eligibility as early as possible, preferably before you pay the upfront deposit.

Part B of the terms covers private residential property. It says CPF savings cannot pay “option fees to property developers or sellers”, and that “for private residential properties which are under construction, CPF savings can be used to meet the progressive payments to the property developers when due”. Our reading: the booking fee for the option is an option fee, though Part B does not use the words “booking fee”.

On fees, CPF’s FAQ on how much CPF savings you can use (updated 18 September 2026) says CPF savings used for stamp duty, legal fees and upgrading costs are not included in the CPF housing limit. For additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD), IRAS says (updated 27 August 2026) that using CPF to pay stamp duty is subject to the private property and public housing scheme terms, and to check with CPF Board. We have not confirmed whether ABSD itself can be paid from OA; our stamp duty guide puts the duties in one plan.

On cash, the private property section of CPF’s down-payment FAQ (updated 10 November 2025) says OA savings can be used “after completing legal documentation and paying in cash” a minimum 5% cash down payment of the lower of the purchase price or valuation at the time of purchase, any part of the price above market value, and the lower of price or valuation less the housing loan and approved CPF lump sum. For the specifics it points to MAS’s website, which we could not open. It does not mention new launches or uncompleted homes.

CPF’s page on what to consider (updated 6 August 2025) lists a bank loan’s maximum as “Up to 75% of purchase price, subject to terms and conditions”. It names no property type and gives no conditions, so read 75% as CPF’s headline, not as your limit. CPF’s HDB-versus-bank-loan page covers HDB flats only, so we do not apply it. Ask your bank, and see our guide to reading a home loan offer.

A new launch is paid in stages. Our payment schedule guide sets out what URA and CPF say about the booking fee, the progress payment due on TOP and CPF, and labels its stage percentages unverified. No page we read says how cash and CPF are split across stages; the checklist below says what to ask.

How much of my OA can I use?

CPF’s page on how much CPF savings you can use (updated 26 May 2026) says the limits balance buying a home against retirement planning. For a private property bought with a bank loan:

• First limit: you and your co-owners (if any) may use your respective OA savings up to the lower of the purchase price and the valuation price at the time of purchase.
• Second limit: once that is reached, you can continue up to 120% of the same figure if you have set aside your respective BRS. CPF’s Housing Scheme terms put it as up to an additional 20% if you can set aside the BRS.
• Lease condition: the remaining lease should cover the youngest buyer using CPF until age 95. If it cannot, OA use is limited to “a percentage of” the lower figure, which the text we read does not state. Our guide on freehold versus 99-year leasehold and the age-95 rule covers how tenure changes this.

If the new launch is a second or subsequent property bought before you sell your current home, CPF says you can use remaining OA savings only after setting aside the applicable Basic or Full Retirement Sum, depending on whether at least one of your properties can cover you until age 95 (CPF, updated 1 September 2026; its FAQ gives the same split). For co-owners, our joint purchase guide covers what CPF’s page does not say about sharing the limit.

CPF’s housing usage calculator (updated 3 August 2026) estimates the OA you can use, for up to three co-owners, from their dates of birth, the purchase date, the valuation price and lease information. CPF says it cannot be used if the transaction is not conducted at and above market valuation.

An illustration with invented figures: the price is S$1,600,000 and the valuation is S$1,550,000. The lower figure is S$1,550,000, so the first limit is S$1,550,000 and the 120% limit, with the BRS set aside, is S$1,860,000. With a valuation equal to the price they would be S$1,600,000 and S$1,920,000, so the lower valuation cuts them by S$50,000 and S$60,000. The calculator, not this sum, gives your figure.

What will I refund when I sell?

CPF’s page on refunds when you sell or transfer a property (updated 11 June 2026) says you refund the CPF principal you withdrew plus accrued interest; its main housing page explains that CPF is meant for retirement, so you refund the amount you used plus the interest accrued on it. Below 55, the refund goes into your OA; from 55, CPF says it first tops up your Retirement Account to the required retirement sum and the balance stays in your OA. CPF describes accrued interest as the interest your CPF savings would have earned if they had remained in your CPF account.

CPF’s OA interest rate is 2.5% a year for 1 October–31 December 2026, reviewed quarterly, with a legislated minimum of 2.5% a year. For illustration only, assume accrued interest runs at 2.5% a year, compounded yearly, on S$320,000 of OA used for a down payment. The CPF pages we read do not say how accrued interest is compounded, so this method is our assumption:

• After 5 years: accrued interest of about S$42,051, so a refund of about S$362,051
• After 10 years: accrued interest of about S$89,627, so a refund of about S$409,627

Our reading: each OA-funded instalment adds its own principal and interest to the refund. CPF’s own calculation is the one that counts, and the “What Happens If” section of your Home ownership dashboard shows the refund if you sold now. If a property sold at market value does not fetch enough to repay the loan and the refund, CPF says you refund only the selling price less the outstanding housing loan and do not need to top up the shortfall in cash.

Cash or OA for the down payment: what changes?

Take a hypothetical S$320,000 slice of a down payment that could be paid from either OA or cash; what a real down payment allows depends on the rules above and on your bank. CPF lists a minimum 5% cash down payment and cannot pay the option fee, so treat the slice as part of a down payment. Using the 5-year refund example:

• OA for all S$320,000: no cash on this slice; S$320,000 leaves your OA; about S$362,051 to refund after 5 years.
• Half and half, S$160,000 each: S$160,000 in cash; S$160,000 leaves your OA; about S$181,025 to refund.
• Cash for all S$320,000: S$320,000 in cash; nothing leaves your OA; no refund on this slice.

CPF’s guidance on what to consider (updated 6 August 2025) is to plan with retirement needs in mind, since more OA used for property leaves less CPF for retirement. It recommends keeping S$20,000 in OA as an emergency fund, earning up to 3.5% a year: extra interest of 1% on the first S$60,000 of combined balances, capped at S$20,000 for OA. The main page also suggests mixing cash and OA so that some money stays in your OA earning interest.

Our inference, not CPF’s: using OA does not remove a cost, it moves it into the refund, which grows with accrued interest. So the comparison is between that growth and what the same cash would earn, or what you would need it for.

What to check before you commit OA

• Run CPF’s housing usage calculator with the price and, once you have it, the bank’s valuation.
• Check whether this will be a second or subsequent property bought before you sell your current home, and which retirement sum must be set aside first.
• Check the remaining lease against the youngest buyer’s age 95.
• Check your OA balance after keeping the S$20,000 emergency fund CPF recommends.
• Plan cash for the option fee, which CPF cannot pay, and the 5% minimum; check the specifics with your bank and MAS.
• Ask your lawyer and bank how each progressive payment will be funded and when it is due.
• Ask CPF whether OA can pay the ABSD that applies to you, and put stamp duty and loan terms in one cash-flow plan.
• After purchase, record the refund shown on CPF’s “What Happens If” view and refresh it yearly.

Unfamiliar terms are in our new launch glossary, and the ongoing monthly cost is worked through in our monthly cost guide. More comparisons are under Compare carefully.

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