Singapore Property Jargon Explained: Know Your Property Lingo (2026)

Singapore property has its own short words, and agents use them fast. This glossary explains the terms you will meet when you buy, finance or sell a home in 2026, with the current numbers. Some terms in the 2010 version of this article, such as SIBOR, no longer exist, and several rates have changed. We say so where it matters.

At a glance

• Four rules shape most purchases: the 55% debt limit (TDSR), the 30% HDB limit (MSR), the 75% maximum loan, and the stamp duties (BSD, ABSD, SSD).
• For HDB flats, learn MOP, Standard, Plus and Prime, and the grants.
• SIBOR and SOR are gone. Home loans now follow SORA, or are fixed.
• When a number matters, check the date. Most of the figures below are checked as at October 2026.

Buying steps

• OTP (Option to Purchase) — the seller gives you the right to buy at an agreed price within a set time. You pay an option fee to get it. On a private resale the fee is commonly 1% of the price and the standard CEA template gives two weeks to exercise; for an HDB resale flat the option lasts 21 days.
• Exercise — you accept the option and the sale becomes binding. On a private resale you commonly top up to 5% of the price.
• Caveat — a notice your lawyer lodges to protect your interest in the property until completion.
• Completion — the day your lawyer pays the balance and you get the keys.
• Valuation — an estimate of the market value by a bank, HDB or a valuer. Loans and CPF use the lower of price or valuation.
• COV (cash over valuation) — the part of a resale price above the valuation. You pay it from your own cash. Loans and CPF do not cover it.
• TOP (Temporary Occupation Permit) — allows owners or tenants to occupy a new building before final approval. For a new-launch condo, the next instalment falls due around TOP.
• CSC (Certificate of Statutory Completion) — issued by the Building and Construction Authority after the works comply with all requirements. It marks legal completion of the building.

Loans and CPF

• Downpayment — the part of the price you pay upfront, in cash and CPF. The loan can cover at most 75%, so you need at least 25%, of which at least 5% is cash for a bank loan.
• LTV (loan-to-value) — the loan divided by the lower of price or valuation. The MAS limits for banks are 75% with no other housing loan, 45% with one, and 35% with two or more. For an HDB loan the limit is 75%.
• TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) — all your monthly debt payments, including the new loan, must not exceed 55% of gross monthly income. Banks test it at a 4% rate floor, not at the rate you will pay. See understanding TDSR.
• MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio) — the home loan alone may not exceed 30% of gross income. It applies to HDB flats and to ECs bought from developers, not to private property.
• SORA (Singapore Overnight Rate Average) — the benchmark that floating-rate home loans follow. A package is usually quoted as three-month compounded SORA plus a spread. Our mortgage guide shows how to compare packages.
• Lock-in — the period, often two to three years, during which you pay a penalty to repay early or switch. See refinancing your mortgage.
• CPF Valuation Limit and Withdrawal Limit — your CPF use for a home is capped at the lower of price or valuation, and once you have set aside the Basic Retirement Sum, at up to 120% of that. CPF use can also be reduced if the remaining lease does not cover the youngest buyer to age 95.
• Accrued interest — when you sell, you refund the CPF you used plus the interest it would have earned, at the Ordinary Account rate (2.5%).

Stamp duties

• BSD (Buyer’s Stamp Duty) — paid on every purchase, in tiers of 1% to 6%. The 6% rate applies only to the part of a residential price above S$3 million. See IRAS.
• ABSD (Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty) — an extra duty on top of BSD, set by your status and how many homes you own. Since 27 April 2023: Singapore Citizens pay 0% on a first home, 20% on a second and 30% on a third; PRs pay 5%, 30% and 35%; foreigners pay 60%. The 2010 version of this article predates ABSD altogether. See our guide to BSD and ABSD.
• SSD (Seller’s Stamp Duty) — paid if you sell a residential property within four years of buying. For homes bought from 4 July 2025 the rates are 16%, 12%, 8% and 4% by year held.

HDB and EC terms

• BTO (Build-To-Order) — a new flat you apply for in a ballot, then wait for it to be built. SBF (Sale of Balance Flats) are unsold or returned flats, offered at the same time. See the gov.sg BTO guide.
• HFE letter (HDB Flat Eligibility letter) — HDB’s written check of whether you can buy a flat, which grants you qualify for, and how much you can borrow. Get it before you apply.
• MOP (Minimum Occupation Period) — how long you must live in a flat before you can sell it. It is 5 years for Standard flats and 10 for Plus and Prime, counted from legal completion. Most ECs on sites tendered from 8 May 2026 also have a 10-year MOP.
• Standard, Plus and Prime — HDB’s classification of new flats from the October 2024 exercise. Plus and Prime flats have a subsidy recovery on resale: so far 6% to 8% of the price for Plus and 9% to 14% for Prime. See the classification guide. This replaced the old “mature and non-mature estate” labels.
• EHG (Enhanced CPF Housing Grant) — up to S$120,000 for first-timer families, tiered by income. It replaced the older AHG and SHG grants in 2019.
• Income ceiling — the household income limit for subsidised flats and grants: S$16,000 for families since 24 August 2026.
• Wait-out period — a rule that makes some private-property owners wait before buying certain HDB flats. 30 months still applies to subsidised flats, resale with grants and HDB loans. HDB removed the 15-month version on 28 July 2026.
• EC (executive condominium) — a hybrid of public and private housing. See our EC guide.

Land, size and tenure

• Freehold — you own the land with no end date. Leasehold — you own it for a fixed term, usually 99 years, sometimes 999. A 999-year lease behaves much like freehold. See valuing leasehold property.
• Strata title — ownership of one unit in a building plus a share of the common property. A management corporation (MCST) runs the common areas and collects maintenance fees. Landed homes usually have title to the land itself.
• Plot ratio and GFA — plot ratio is the total floor area allowed on a plot divided by the plot’s area. GFA (gross floor area) is that allowed floor area. A 10,000 sqm plot at a plot ratio of 2.8 allows 28,000 sqm of floor area. See URA land use zoning.
• psf and psf ppr — price per square foot. For condos it is usually based on the strata floor area, which can include balconies and air-con ledges; for landed homes it is usually based on the land area. Developers’ land bids are quoted in psf ppr, meaning per sq ft of permitted floor area. One square metre is 10.7639 sq ft.
• En bloc (collective sale) — owners of a whole development sell it together to a developer. Today the consent needed is 80% of owners for buildings 10 years old or more, and 90% for newer ones. A law passed on 8 September 2026 will lower this to 70% for buildings 40 to 59 years old and 65% for 60 years or more, but its start date was not yet announced at the time of writing. See en bloc sales.

Terms that no longer apply

• SIBOR and SOR — discontinued. Singapore home loans now reference SORA, or are fixed. Any guide that tells you to “compare SIBOR packages” is out of date.
• AHG and SHG — replaced by the EHG.
• Mature and non-mature estates — replaced by Standard, Plus and Prime for new flats.
• Old limits — older guides quote a 60% TDSR (cut to 55% for options from 16 December 2021) and a 90% HDB loan limit (now 75%, since 20 August 2024).

Bottom line

You do not need to memorise all of these. Learn the ones that decide whether you can buy: TDSR, MSR, LTV and the stamp duties. Then learn the ones that decide what you can do after you buy: MOP, subsidy recovery and SSD. For the full buying sequence, read the 10-step system, and test your own loan in our mortgage calculator. This is the last part of the beginner series. Start again at Part 1 on housing types.

Sources

• Option to Purchase template for private residential property — CEA / DPTWG, v1.2, 10 Feb 2021
• HDB resale buying guide — gov.sg (checked Oct 2026)
• HDB BTO and SBF buying guide — gov.sg, updated 29 Jun 2026
• HDB flat types and classification guide — gov.sg (checked Oct 2026)
• HDB loans guide — gov.sg, 24 Aug 2026
• MSR and TDSR rules — MAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Loan tenure and loan-to-value limits — MAS, updated 27 Mar 2024
• How much CPF savings you can use for your home purchase — CPF Board (checked Oct 2026)
• CPF interest rates — CPF Board (checked Oct 2026)
• Buyer’s Stamp Duty — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Seller’s Stamp Duty for residential property — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Eligibility to sell your flat — HDB, 18 Aug 2026
• Enhanced CPF Housing Grant — HDB, Aug 2026
• Increase in income ceilings and greater support for families with children — HDB, 23 Aug 2026
• Removal of the 15-month wait-out period — HDB, 28 Jul 2026
• Strengthening the Executive Condominium housing scheme — MND, 8 May 2026
• Proposed amendments to the collective sale regime — Ministry of Law, 4 Aug 2026 (bill passed 8 Sep 2026)