Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Singapore?
Yes. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sets the same limits for every borrower whatever their nationality: at most 75 per cent of the property's value on a first housing loan, total monthly debt repayments at or below 55 per cent of gross monthly income, and a tenure of up to 35 years on private property. Whether a particular bank lends, and on what terms, is the bank's decision within those rules. What is different for a foreign buyer is the cash needed up front, because the additional buyer's stamp duty of 60 per cent, which applies unless a free trade agreement treats the buyer's nationality as a citizen's, is not part of the property value the loan is measured against, and the way a bank documents income earned outside Singapore, for which MAS sets no separate rule.
The rules are the same for every borrower
MAS's rules on housing loans speak of individuals and borrowers, not of citizens: the loan-to-value limit of 75 per cent with no other housing loan outstanding, 45 per cent with one and 35 per cent with two or more, each with its minimum cash downpayment; the lower limits when the tenure exceeds 30 years or runs past the age of 65; the 55 per cent total debt servicing ratio; and the tenure caps of 30 years for an HDB flat and 35 for other property. They bind the banks, finance companies and merchant banks that lend. HDB flats themselves are governed by the Housing and Development Board's own eligibility rules, which the Singapore Land Authority points buyers to. The guide on how much you can borrow for a home loan sets the rules out in full.
What changes: the cash you need up front
A foreigner buying any residential property pays additional buyer's stamp duty of 60 per cent to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), with the exception below for free trade agreement nationals, on top of buyer's stamp duty of 1 to 6 per cent in bands, both due within 14 days of signing. Neither duty is part of the property's value, so neither sits inside the 75 per cent a bank may lend: on a S$2 million home the duties come to about S$1.27 million, and the minimum cash downpayment under MAS's table adds S$100,000, with the balance of the 25 per cent not borrowed also to be found. A permanent resident pays 5 per cent additional duty on a first home, and nationals of countries whose free trade agreement with Singapore provides for it, such as the United States in IRAS's example, pay none. The guide on the taxes and fees a foreign home buyer pays has the sums.
What changes: how income earned abroad is tested
Under MAS's rules a lender confirms a borrower's debts from documents and the credit bureau, and counts gross monthly income before tax. Variable income such as commission, bonus and allowances, averaged over the preceding twelve months, takes a haircut of at least 30 per cent, as does rental income, which must be proved by a stamped tenancy agreement; financial assets, including foreign currency deposits, stocks and funds, may be counted as an income stream over 48 months after a haircut of at least 30 per cent if pledged for four years and 70 per cent if not. MAS's pages do not set a separate rule for income earned outside Singapore; how a bank documents and weighs it is the bank's practice, which differs from one lender to another. The new loan is tested at the higher of a 4 per cent floor and the package's thereafter rate, so the ratio is stricter than the headline rate suggests.
The bank decides, within the rules
MAS sets maximums; it does not oblige a lender to lend. Its TDSR page says financial institutions may adopt more conservative practices than its rules require, and MoneySense's page on affordability says how much you can borrow depends on the lender's assessment as well as the rules. MAS's table also applies its lower limit, 55 per cent on a first housing loan (25 or 15 where there is an existing one), to a loan whose period runs beyond the borrower's age of 65 or beyond 30 years, so a bank may offer a shorter tenure to keep the higher limit; the bank's own policy may shorten it further. MoneySense advises dealing only with lenders regulated by MAS and checking them in MAS's Financial Institutions Directory; a mortgage broker is not a lender and is not listed there.
Where a broker comes in
A broker who handles foreign buyers knows which banks take income earned abroad, in which currencies and on what proof, and can put the case to several at once before an option is signed. The ranked list of mortgage brokers says which brokers take on loans for foreign buyers and which lenders each compares; its answers describe what a broker costs and what to check in the bank's letter of offer, where the terms that bind are written.