Insights topic
Financing, CPF and loans
TDSR, MSR, LTV and CPF accrued interest decide what you can actually buy — usually well before preference does. These guides work through the limits as MAS and CPF Board state them, including the parts that only bite years later, like accrued interest on a property you no longer own.
2 guides · 6 answered questions · last verified 1 August 2026
6 questions on this topic, answeredGuides
- 9 min read
Using CPF for property: the limits, the retirement sum, and the interest that follows you
CPF usage is capped by the Valuation Limit — the lower of price or valuation — and extends to 120% of it only once you have set aside your retirement sum. Everything you withdraw accrues 2.5% a year, compounded, and comes back to CPF rather than to you when you sell.
Updated 1 August 2026
- 8 min read
TDSR and MSR: the two ratios that decide what you can actually buy
TDSR caps total monthly debt at 55% of gross income, stress-tested at a 4% rate floor rather than the rate you are quoted. MSR adds a 30% cap for HDB flats and ECs bought from a developer. In most upgrader households TDSR binds before the loan-to-value limit does — which means income, not equity, is the constraint.
Updated 1 August 2026