How does the calculator decide rent vs buy?

It computes the net cost of each path over your horizon. Buying nets total cash out (down payment, stamp duties, mortgage, holding costs) against sale proceeds. Renting nets total rent paid against the investment gains you would earn on the deposit you did not tie up. The lower net cost wins.

What costs are included on the buy side?

The down payment, Buyer's Stamp Duty (tiered), any ABSD, legal and valuation fees, the amortised mortgage payments over your horizon, and annual holding costs covering property tax, MCST maintenance, and insurance. At the end it credits the appreciated sale value minus the outstanding loan and selling fees.

Why does the investment return matter so much?

If you rent, the large deposit you would have spent buying stays invested. The return it earns is a real benefit of renting, so a higher assumed return makes renting look better. Because both property appreciation and investment return are uncertain, small changes swing the result.

Does it account for Singapore stamp duties?

Yes. The buy side adds the tiered Buyer's Stamp Duty automatically and lets you enter an ABSD rate, which can be the single largest upfront cost for second properties, PRs, and foreigners, materially shifting the comparison toward renting.

Is the result financial advice?

No. It is a model whose output depends heavily on your appreciation and investment-return assumptions, both of which are uncertain. Use it to understand the trade-offs and run several scenarios, not as a definitive answer.

Singapore Rent vs Buy Calculator

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“Should I rent or buy in Singapore?” rarely has a clean answer, because it depends on stamp duties, mortgage rates, how long you stay, and what your money would earn elsewhere. This calculator models the complete financial picture for both paths over your chosen horizon so you can compare like for like instead of relying on gut feel.

How it works

The tool computes a net cost for each path and compares them:

buy cost  = down payment + stamp duty + ABSD + legal
            + mortgage payments + holding costs
            − (appreciated value − outstanding loan − selling fee)

rent cost = total rent paid over horizon
            − investment gains on the deposit you kept invested

On the buy side it adds tiered Buyer’s Stamp Duty, applies your ABSD rate, and tracks the outstanding loan balance so the equity credited at the end is realistic. On the rent side it grows the rent each year and grows the saved upfront capital at your assumed investment return — the opportunity cost that makes renting genuinely competitive.

Example and notes

On a 1,500,000 dollar condo held ten years, a citizen first-buyer (0 ABSD) with modest 3 percent appreciation often finds buying and renting land close together, with the winner flipping on small changes to the appreciation or the 4 percent investment-return assumption. Add a 20 percent ABSD for a second property and renting usually pulls clearly ahead because that upfront tax is dead money.

Treat this as a scenario tool. Run it with optimistic and pessimistic appreciation and investment returns to see how robust the verdict is — if buying only wins under generous assumptions, that is worth knowing before committing.