Can a foreigner buy property in Singapore?
Foreigners can freely buy private condominium and apartment units, but a flat 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty applies to the purchase. Landed houses and public HDB flats are generally off-limits without special approval (landed homes only in the designated Sentosa Cove).
Before you buy in Singapore, always:
- Use your own independent lawyer — never the seller's or the developer's.
- Get in writing exactly what you'll own — freehold, a long lease, or a right-to-use.
- Confirm clean title and that funds move by a documented, traceable route.
- Avoid informal nominee arrangements — if a deal only works by bending the rules, walk away.
General guidance only — rules change; confirm the current position with a qualified local lawyer.
Our free ownership checker and the Overseas Property Playbook walk through how foreign ownership works step by step — the questions to ask and the traps to sidestep.
What it costs to buy in Singapore
Buying is very costly for foreigners — a flat 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty plus Buyer's Stamp Duty of up to 6%, so on a S$1m condo the duties alone approach S$660,000, before legal fees and agent commission. Completion usually runs about 8-12 weeks.
Where foreigners tend to buy in Singapore
The East Coast (Katong and Siglap) for leafy, seaside café living; Bukit Timah and Holland Village for green, expat-favoured neighbourhoods; central River Valley and Orchard for walkable convenience; and Sentosa Cove, the one enclave where foreigners can buy a landed home.
Healthcare and everyday life
Among the best healthcare in the world, but you pay for it — foreigners aren't covered by residents' MediShield, so private international insurance is essential and can be pricey, roughly S$300-800+ a month for a single adult and steeper at older ages, with some insurers capping new entry around 65-80. Budget generously, as medical costs are rising fast. Exceptionally safe and clean, with English an official working language spoken by almost everyone and driving on the left — about as easy as it gets for a British retiree, cost aside.
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