Buying in Singapore vs back home: what Australians really pay

As a foreigner in Singapore, you pay 60% duty on top of the price before you've bought a single light bulb. Back home, an Australian citizen pays ordinary stamp duty, wherever they live.

The short version

• Foreigners can buy condos and apartments in Singapore without approval, but landed houses need government approval that's rarely given [1].
• The single biggest cost difference: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 60% for foreigners, on top of Buyer's Stamp Duty of up to 6% [2][3]. In NSW, an Australian citizen pays transfer duty only, with no foreign surcharge [4][5].
• Singapore banks lend up to 75% of the value on a first housing loan, with a separate cap on total debt repayments against income [6].
• Sell within four years in Singapore and Seller's Stamp Duty applies, starting at 16% in year one [7]. Sell in Australia as a foreign resident and you lose the main residence exemption [8].
• Getting Singapore permanent residency cuts ABSD on your first home from 60% to 5% [2].

Can an Australian buy in Singapore?

Yes, with limits. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) lets foreigners buy condominium units, apartments and strata landed homes inside an approved condo development without asking anyone [1]. That covers most of what Australians actually look at: a two-bedder in Novena, River Valley, Tiong Bahru or out east near Tampines.

What needs approval under the Residential Property Act: vacant land, terraces, semi-detached houses, bungalows, townhouses outside a condo development, and landed homes at Sentosa Cove [1]. SLA assesses applications case by case. The criteria it lists are being a permanent resident for at least five years and making an "exceptional economic contribution" to Singapore [1]. Translation: a bungalow in Bukit Timah is not on the table for most expats on an Employment Pass.

HDB flats are a separate system with their own eligibility rules, and they aren't open to foreigners on their own [1].

What changes with PR or another passport

Residency status drives the tax bill. ABSD rates since 27 April 2023 are [2]:

Holding a second European or British passport doesn't help here, because Singapore taxes by Singapore status, not by which passport you hold. Becoming a PR is the only realistic lever for most Australians.

Upfront costs side by side

Rates as at November 2026. Singapore amounts are in Singapore dollars, with AUD at the RBA rate of S$0.8953 on 5 November 2026.

Two things jump out. First, ABSD dwarfs everything else in the table. Second, Singapore duty is due quickly: stamp duty there falls due shortly after you sign, not at settlement, so you need the cash ready when you exercise your option to purchase.

Getting a loan

In Singapore

Foreigners can borrow from Singapore banks, under the same Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) rules as everyone else. For your first housing loan, the loan-to-value cap is 75%, with at least 5% paid in cash. If the loan runs longer than 30 years or past your 65th birthday, the cap falls to 55% and the cash minimum rises to 10% [6]. Private property loans can run up to 35 years [6].

The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) caps all your monthly debt repayments at 55% of your monthly income. Banks apply their own policies on top for foreign income, bonuses and your pass type, so an Employment Pass holder with a long runway in Singapore will find it easier than someone on a short contract.

The catch: you can't borrow the ABSD. On a S$1.5 million condo, a foreigner needs S$900,000 in ABSD plus BSD plus the 25% deposit, all in cash. That's why most foreign buyers in Singapore are either very wealthy or have become PRs.

Back home

Australian lenders will lend to Australians abroad, but on tighter terms. Expect fewer lenders, lower maximum LVRs than for residents, and some of your foreign income to be discounted for currency risk. Our guides on foreign income and deposits cover this in detail. The upside: Australian citizens don't need FIRB approval to buy a home in their own name, and NSW charges no foreign surcharge [5].

Holding costs

Property tax in Singapore is where foreign owners get a second surprise. If you rent out your condo, it's taxed at non-owner-occupier rates, which are steep at higher annual values [9].

Don't forget the Australian side. If you're still an Australian tax resident while living in Singapore, you're taxed in Australia on your worldwide income, Singapore rent included, with a credit for Singapore tax paid. Most Australians working full time in Singapore become foreign residents, but it's not automatic.

Selling and tax

Singapore

Singapore doesn't have a general capital gains tax on property you hold as an investment or home, though a business of trading property is taxed as income. The real exit cost is Seller's Stamp Duty. For homes bought on or after 4 July 2025, the holding period is four years [7]:

1. Sold within 1 year: 16%
2. Within 2 years: 12%
3. Within 3 years: 8%
4. Within 4 years: 4%
5. After 4 years: nil

Australia

If you sell an Australian property while you're a foreign resident for tax, you generally can't claim the main residence exemption, even for the years you lived there, unless you pass the narrow life events test [8]. Since 1 January 2025, buyers must withhold 15% of the price on every Australian property sale unless the seller gives an ATO clearance certificate by settlement [10]. And from 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount is replaced with indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate on gains accruing after that date.

Currency risk

The Singapore dollar has historically been steadier than the Aussie dollar. If you buy in Singapore and later move home, a weaker AUD flatters your sale proceeds; a stronger one shrinks them. Buy in Australia while earning SGD, and every repayment is a currency bet too.

A worked example

Illustration only. Same budget, about A$1 million, in both places. We've used S$900,000 (about A$1.005 million at the 5 November 2026 RBA rate) for a Singapore condo and A$1,000,000 for a NSW home. A S$900,000 budget in Singapore generally means a smaller or older unit outside the core central region. Legal, inspection and loan fees are left out because they vary.

The BSD sum: 1% of S$180,000 (S$1,800) plus 2% of the next S$180,000 (S$3,600) plus 3% of the remaining S$540,000 (S$16,200). The NSW sum: A$11,602 plus 4.5% of A$613,000.

The foreigner's duty bill in Singapore is more than half the price of the flat. Even as a PR, you'd pay nearly double the NSW duty.

Which suits whom

There's no right answer, only factors that weigh differently for each person:

• How long you're staying. SSD makes short holds in Singapore expensive, and ABSD is a sunk cost you only recover through price growth.
• Your status. A Singapore PR buying a first home is in a very different position from a foreigner on an Employment Pass.
• Whether you're moving home. A property back home can become your residence later; check how the main residence rules apply to you before you sell.
• Rental demand and management. Renting out a Singapore condo means steeper property tax; renting out an Australian home from overseas means a property manager and foreign resident tax.
• Currency. Where you earn, where you'll retire and where your debts sit all matter.
• Estate planning. Owning in two countries means two legal systems for your will. Get advice in both.

Want to compare notes with other Australians who've done the sums? Join Cooee Singapore, our Facebook group for Australians in Singapore, at /join/.

Sources

1. Foreign ownership of property – Singapore Land Authority
2. Measures for a sustainable property market (ABSD rates from 27 April 2023) – Monetary Authority of Singapore
3. Buyer's Stamp Duty rates to be raised for higher-value properties – Ministry of Finance Singapore
4. How to calculate transfer duty – Revenue NSW
5. Surcharge purchaser duty for individuals – Revenue NSW
6. Loan tenure and loan-to-value limits – Monetary Authority of Singapore
7. Extension of the holding period of Seller's Stamp Duty and higher SSD rates – Monetary Authority of Singapore
8. Main residence exemption for foreign residents – Australian Taxation Office
9. Progressive property tax rates for residential properties from 1 January 2024 – IRAS
10. Foreign resident capital gains withholding overview – Australian Taxation Office

Keep reading

• Renting in Singapore as an Australian
• Cost of living in Singapore vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Foreign income and Australian lenders: how your salary is assessed
• Deposit and LVR as an expat borrower: how much you need