What is a bridging loan?
A bridging loan is a short-term facility that covers the gap between paying for your next home and receiving the money from selling your current one. Sales and purchases rarely complete on the same day, and the money you are relying on is locked in a property you have not sold yet.
It is not a mortgage. It is not assessed on your income the way a housing loan is. It is sized against a specific, identifiable source of repayment — the proceeds of a sale that is already under way — and it is repaid in full when that sale completes.
Two different products share the name. The property bridging loan described here is for individuals buying a home. OCBC's Temporary Bridging Loan Programme is an SME business facility. If you searched for the latter, this is not the page you want.
Why is a bridging loan always about six months?
Because of a specific MAS rule, not market habit. MAS states that the TDSR rules do not apply to "bridging loans where the outstanding balance will be repaid within 6 months".
That exclusion is what makes the product work. Your Total Debt Servicing Ratio is capped at 55% of gross monthly income, and you are usually applying for the new home loan at the same time. If the bridging loan counted, it would consume headroom you need for the mortgage. Because it is repaid inside six months, it does not count at all.
Stretch the term past six months and the exclusion falls away, which is why lenders structure these tightly. The six months is a regulatory boundary, not a negotiating position.
How much can I borrow on a bridging loan?
It is sized against what your sale will actually release, which is less than the sale price. Work backwards from the sale: take the price, subtract the outstanding loan on that property, subtract selling costs, and separate out the CPF that has to be refunded.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Sale price | S$800,000 |
| Less outstanding loan | − S$300,000 |
| Less selling costs (2%) | − S$16,000 |
| Less CPF refunded to your OA | − S$180,000 |
| Cash released on completion | S$304,000 |
| CPF released on completion | S$180,000 |
| Total released | S$484,000 |
In this example S$484,000 comes back on completion, but only S$304,000 of it is cash. The rest returns to your CPF Ordinary Account.
Why does the CPF refund matter so much?
Because CPF cannot pay the part of the purchase that must be paid in cash. Under the loan-to-value rules a buyer taking a 75% housing loan must fund the remaining 25%, and at least 5% of the purchase price has to be cash — CPF is not accepted for that slice.
So a seller with a large CPF refund coming and very little in the bank can still be genuinely short. The bridging loan is what covers that shortfall in the weeks before the refund actually lands.
What does a bridging loan cost?
Rates are higher than a mortgage because the term is short and the facility is unsecured against the new property, but the absolute cost is small because you hold it for weeks or months rather than years.
On the worked example — a S$300,000 bridge at 5% for 6 months — the interest is about S$1,250 a month and S$7,500 in total. Set against the cost of losing the flat you want, that is usually the cheaper problem.
Rates and structures differ between banks, and some charge interest only with the principal repaid on completion. Check the actual terms with the lender — this site does not publish bank-specific bridging rates because they could not be verified on the banks' own pages.
When will a bridging loan not solve the problem?
When the sale simply will not release enough. A bridging loan is a timing tool, not a funding tool — it advances money you are definitely going to receive, and it cannot advance money that is not coming.
If your current property is worth less than the loan on it plus the CPF to be refunded, the sale releases nothing and there is nothing to bridge against. The calculator flags this case explicitly rather than quietly showing a number.
Which banks offer bridging loans in Singapore?
DBS, OCBC, UOB, Maybank, Standard Chartered, HSBC and CIMB all lend against property bridging in some form, and terms differ meaningfully between them on rate, structure and how the sale proceeds are assigned.
Bridging loans to individuals are governed by MAS Notice 633, which applies to all banks and covers bridging loans used for the purchase of an HDB flat as well as private property.
We do not publish per-bank bridging rates. They could not be confirmed on the banks' own live pages, and a rate we cannot source is a rate we will not state. Ask your lender directly, and ask specifically whether interest is charged monthly or rolled up to completion.
Work out your own number
Bridging Loan Calculator Singapore
Enter your sale price, outstanding loan and CPF refund to see what the sale actually releases — and how much of the gap you need to bridge.
Open the calculator →Frequently asked questions
What is a bridging loan in Singapore?
A short-term loan that covers the cash gap when you buy your next home before your current one is sold. It is repaid from the sale proceeds when that sale completes, and it is sized against those proceeds rather than against your income.
Does a bridging loan count towards TDSR?
No, provided the outstanding balance will be repaid within six months. MAS excludes such bridging loans from the TDSR rules, which is why the short term matters — it keeps your debt servicing headroom free for the new home loan you are applying for at the same time.
How much can I borrow with a bridging loan?
It depends on what your sale will actually release: the sale price less the outstanding loan on that property, less selling costs, with the CPF refund separated out. Lenders size the facility against that figure, and terms vary between banks.
What is the interest rate on a bridging loan in Singapore?
Higher than a mortgage because the term is short, but the total cost is modest because you hold it briefly. Rates differ between lenders and we do not publish per-bank figures we cannot verify on the bank's own page — ask the lender, and ask whether interest is charged monthly or rolled up to completion.
Can I get a bridging loan for an HDB flat?
Yes. MAS Notice 633 explicitly covers bridging loans used for the purchase of an HDB flat as well as private property. The mechanics are the same, though the CPF refund is often a larger share of what an HDB sale releases.
How long does a bridging loan last?
Typically up to six months, aligned to the MAS exclusion from TDSR for bridging loans repaid within that period. It is repaid in full when your sale completes, which is usually well inside the term.
Do I need a bridging loan if I have CPF savings?
Possibly, yes. A CPF refund returns to your Ordinary Account and can go towards the new purchase, but CPF cannot cover the minimum 5% of the price that must be paid in cash. A buyer with a large CPF refund coming and little cash can still be short.
Is a bridging loan the same as OCBC's Temporary Bridging Loan?
No. OCBC's Temporary Bridging Loan Programme is an SME business-lending facility. The property bridging loan described here is for individuals buying a home. The names are similar and the two frequently appear in the same search results, but they are unrelated products.
What happens if my sale falls through?
The bridging loan still has to be repaid, and the source you were relying on has disappeared. This is the real risk of the product and the reason lenders want a firm sale in place. Discuss the position with your lender before committing to the purchase, not after.
Sources
Every rate on this page was read directly from IRAS on . Stamp duty rules change with little notice — confirm against IRAS before you commit to a purchase.
- ↗ MAS Notice 633 — Bridging loans for the purchase of immovable properties
- ↗ MAS — Who TDSR applies to, including the refinancing exemption
- ↗ HDB — Housing loan from HDB
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