OCBC Home Loans

Whether you’re considering getting a private residential property or an executive condominium, OCBC offers both floating and fixed housing loan rates for these properties. 

However, these rates only apply to private residential properties in Singapore with a minimum loan amount of $300,000, if you’re looking for a minimum loan of a lesser amount than this, you can look at what other banks offer via our Home Loans comparison wizard.

OCBC’s SORA-pegged vs fixed-rate packages

OCBC’s SORA-pegged packages are based on the SORA rate which is simply the volume-weighted average rate of borrowing transactions in the unsecured overnight interbank SGD cash market. Given that the 3-month (3M) SORA rate is updated every 3 months, validated and calculated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), your OCBC SORA-pegged package and interest rate will update every 3 months as well. 

In addition to the 3-month SORA rate, OCBC also charges a mark-up, which is called a “spread”. Add these 2 components together and they’ll form the total interest rate which determines your monthly payments. 

Here’s an example to help you understand better: You plan to buy a private property (which can be either a landed property or a condominium) costing $1,300,000 while taking up an OCBC housing loan (3M SORA package) with a tenure of 25 years. 

OCBC will need to assess your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, which is your maximum borrowing capacity (75% of the property price), before you can proceed with your loan application. Let’s say you’re eligible for an OCBC 3M SORA-pegged loan of 975,000 with a tenure of 25 years as a first-time homeowner. Assuming your total monthly income is $20,000, the estimated math will be as follows with the help of MoneySmart’s Mortgage Calculator and the OCBC home loan calculator.

Your downpayment:

$260,000 by CPF + $65,000 in Cash = $325,000

(at least 5% of the property price to be paid in cash which comprise of the option fee & option exercise fee, and 20% to be paid in CPF)

Your estimated interest to pay for the first month:

OCBC’s spread = 0.98%

3-month Compounded SORA = 3.6501%

3.6501% (3M Compounded SORA) + 0.98% (bank’s spread) = approx. 4.63%

4.63% x $975,000 = $45,142.50

$45,142.50 ÷ 12 months = $3,761.88

(based on the 3M SORA rate at 3.6501% as of 20 June 2023)

Your estimated monthly instalment:

It’ll range from $5,492 to $5,503

(based on the increasing interest rate 3M SORA + up to 1.00% p.a. from Year 3 and thereafter)

Other one-time payments*:

$52,000 (buyer’s stamp duties) + $3,000 (legal fee) + $400 (valuation fee) = $55,400

Estimated total payment over 20 years:

$1,300,000 + $55,400 = $1,355,400    

*Buyer’s stamp duties fee is usually about 3% to 4% of the purchase price of the private property - a form of tax payable to the government for registration of purchase of the property. Legal fees are often paid to property lawyers for the processing of the private property’s home loan. Banks will usually have their own panel of licensed valuers and the valuation fee for a private property can range from $200-$400 due to the valuation report required. 

MoneySmart tip: Note that if it is your second property purchase, your BSD will be 20% instead of 3%-4% as per the Ministry of Finance latest update, thus you will be charged 20% for the second property purchase and 30% for the third & subsequent property purchase. To make things easier, you may use our Stamp Duty Calculator to help you out!

If you’re shopping for home loans to finance a HDB flat, you can opt for the HDB loan or a bank mortgage loan such as an OCBC fixed or floating-rate home loan package for HDBs. 

You can choose from 2 types of packages including the 3-month (3M) Compounded SIBOR rate, and the OCBC Fixed rate, which are alternatives to the HDB loan.

OCBC mortgage rates may often be much lower compared to HDB loan, but taking up an OCBC housing loan package requires a much higher downpayment of 25% (of which at least 5% must be in cash) than the HDB loan which is only 10% (can be fully paid with CPF).

For example, if you and your partner decided to take up a $300,000 OCBC Fixed rate (3.65% p.a.) loan with 2 years lock-in period for a resale HDB flat and the tenure is over 20 years, the estimated calculations will be as follows.

Your downpayment:

$60,000 by CPF + $15,000 in Cash = $75,000

(20% of the total loan among paid with your CPF and a minimum 5% of the total loan amount paid in cash)

Your estimated interest to pay for the first month:

OCBC’s spread = 1.00%

OCBC’s fixed rate = 3.65%

3.65% (board rate) + 1.00% (spread) = approx. 4.65%

4.65% x $300,000 = $13,950

$13,950 ÷ 12 months = $1,162.50

(based on the OCBC fixed rate at 3.65% p.a. as of 20 June 2023, which will change over time)

Other one-time payments:

$1,000 + $4,000 (option fee + option exercise fee) = $5,000

(this $5,000 is considered a deposit which forms part of the downpayment paid in cash i.e. $15,000)

Estimated total payment over 20 years:

$300,000 (principal amount) + $161,357.93 (in interest) = $461,357.93 (based on the fluctuating interest rate of 3M SORA + up to 1.00% p.a. bank spread from Year 3 and thereafter)

*All above calculations are estimated using MoneySmart’s Mortgage Calculator.

When should you refinance or reprice your home loan?

Take a look at your existing mortgage package again. If it charges you more than 3.65% interest, you’re probably paying more than what you really need to. Then maybe, it’s about time to consider refinancing or repricing your home loan. But do remember to refinance only after your lock-in period expires, otherwise you may incur penalties.

So what’s the difference between refinancing and repricing? Refinancing involves switching to another bank — that’s financing your current home with another bank instead of the current bank you’re with. On the other hand, repricing simply means picking a new home loan package offered by the same bank that you’re currently financing your home with.

Refinancing your home loan with OCBC may help you reduce your monthly repayment amount by switching to a lower interest rate. Find out more about these rates and how you can go about refinancing your home loan at our OCBC Home Loans Refinancing page.