New launch vs resale
A resale home lets you move in straight away. A new launch takes years to build, so you may rent while you wait, but you pay interest only on the loan drawn so far. This weighs one against the other over the years you plan to hold.
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Result
Worked exampleOver 5 years, the resale home comes out ahead by
$63,829
Net gain: new launch -$66,576, resale -$2,747
Rent while you wait
$192,000
4 years of rent before the new launch is ready
Moving in
After 4 years
The resale home: straight away
| Figure | New launch | Resale |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Paid upfront: downpayment, stamp duty, legal fee, renovation | $592,600 | $622,600 |
| Monthly instalment on the full loan | $6,943 | $5,999 |
| Rent while you wait | $192,000 | $0 |
| Interest | $41,580 | $103,151 |
| Maintenance fees and property tax | $8,400 | $45,000 |
| Buyer's stamp duty | $69,600 | $69,600 |
| Agent fee when you sell, with GST | $50,544 | $50,544 |
| Growth in value at 3% a year | $318,548 | $318,548 |
| Net gain | -$66,576 | -$2,747 |
| Net gain as a share of the upfront cash | -11.23% | -0.44% |
| Comes out ahead | No | Yes |
- The new launch's edge or handicap is mostly the $192,000 of rent while you wait, against lower interest early on (the loan is drawn stage by stage) and no maintenance fees until it is ready. The resale home has the full instalment and holding costs from day one, but you live in it straight away.
- Both homes grow at the same rate here. In practice they often do not: change a price or the growth to test that. Net gain is the growth in value less interest, rent, holding costs, stamp duty, the legal fee, renovation and the agent fee when you sell. It leaves out seller's stamp duty and ABSD.
- For the new launch we assume you pay only interest on the loan drawn so far until it is ready, with the building stages spread evenly. From TOP you pay the full instalment over what is left of the loan tenure: 21 years of the 25 years, as the tenure counts from the first drawdown. The resale home's instalment runs over all 25 years.
A planning aid, not advice. It uses the rules shown below and the figures you enter. Banks, IRAS and CPF Board decide the actual figures for your case.
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What you entered: Years you plan to hold: 5 years Growth in value: 3% Price: $2,000,000 Loan as a share of the price: 75% Interest rate: 1.5% Loan tenure: 25 years Years until it is ready (TOP): 4 years Rent you pay while you wait, a month: $4,000 Maintenance fees and property tax, a month: $700 Renovation and furniture: $20,000 Price: $2,000,000 Loan as a share of the price: 75% Interest rate: 1.5% Loan tenure: 25 years Maintenance fees and property tax, a month: $750 Renovation and furniture: $50,000 The results: Ahead: Resale By: $63,829 Net gain, new launch: -$66,576 Net gain, resale: -$2,747 Rent while you wait: $192,000
The rules behind the numbers
Each table shows where the rule comes from and when we last checked it against that source. Rules change: check the source before you commit.
How the two homes are compared
| Rule | Figure used |
|---|---|
| Net gain | Growth in value, less interest, rent while you wait, maintenance and property tax, stamp duty, the legal fee, renovation and the agent fee when you sell |
| Legal fee on each purchase (our estimate) | $3,000 |
| Agent fee when you sell (our planning figure) | 2% of the selling price, plus 9% GST |
| Growth in value | The rate you enter, the same for both homes |
| Maintenance and property tax | From TOP for the new launch, from day one for the resale home |
| New launch sold before TOP | Interest only on the loan drawn by the time you sell, with the building stages still spread evenly to TOP |
| Loan tenure | Counted from the first drawdown: the new launch repays the whole loan from TOP over the tenure less the years to TOP, the resale home over all of it |
| A loan paid off within the years you hold | No instalment is counted after the last one |
| Left out | Seller's stamp duty, ABSD and what your cash could earn elsewhere |
- Source: IRAS: Current GST rates. Last checked against this source on 27 September 2026.
- These are our own planning assumptions, not rules. GST is at the current IRAS rate.
Progressive payment scheme
| Stage | Share of the price | When it is due |
|---|---|---|
| Booking fee, for the option to purchase | 5% | When you take the option |
| Signing the sale and purchase agreement | 15% | Within 8 weeks of the option date (20% with the booking fee) |
| Foundation work done | 10% | During building |
| Reinforced concrete framework done | 10% | During building |
| Partition walls done | 5% | During building |
| Roofing and ceiling done | 5% | During building |
| Door and window frames, wiring, plastering and plumbing done | 5% | During building |
| Car park, roads and drains done | 5% | During building |
| Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) | 25% | When the home is ready and you get the keys |
| Legal completion | 15% | After TOP; part is held by a stakeholder until the Certificate of Statutory Completion |
The booking fee is at least 5% and at most 10% of the price; these calculators use 5%, the usual figure. Each building stage is due within 14 days of the developer's notice that it is done.
- Source: Housing Developers Rules, rule 8 and the Form 5 payment schedule. Last checked against this source on 29 September 2026.
How the loan is drawn before the home is ready
| Rule | Figure used |
|---|---|
| Who pays first | Your own share of the price, in cash and CPF; then the loan pays each stage |
| Interest before TOP | Only on the loan drawn so far, at the rate you enter for each year |
| Timing of the building stages | Spread evenly from the option to TOP |
| After TOP | Principal and interest on the whole loan, over the loan tenure less the years to TOP, as the tenure counts from the first drawdown |
- These are our own planning assumptions, not rules. Banks set their own drawdown and repayment terms, and real building stages rarely fall evenly.
Buyer's stamp duty
| Purchase price or market value | Residential |
|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Next $640,000 | 3% |
| Next $500,000 | 4% |
| Next $1,500,000 | 5% |
| Remaining amount | 6% |
Worked out band by band on the purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher, and rounded down to the dollar.
- Source: IRAS: Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD). Last checked against this source on 27 September 2026.
Planning figures
| Rule | Figure used |
|---|---|
| Interest rate | 1.5% a year |
| Loan tenure | 25 years |
These are our own planning figures, not a bank quote and not a rule. Banks set their own rates; use the rate you are offered.
- Our planning figures, last set on 16 August 2026.
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