Property Investment Returns Calculator (2026)

After all costs (BSD, ABSD if applicable, legal, mortgage interest, property tax, vacancy, maintenance, agent fees on sale, SSD if within 4 years), most Singapore residential property investments over a 10-year hold yield an annualised return of 3% to 6%. This is roughly comparable to Singapore Savings Bonds (~3%) at the low end and below the historical S&P 500 (~8%) at the high end. Property wins when leverage amplifies returns AND capital appreciation runs above 3% per year — both conditions must hold to beat alternatives meaningfully.

No — and the math is more nuanced than property forums suggest. From 2010 to 2025, Singapore private property prices grew ~3-4% annually while the S&P 500 grew ~12% annually. Property's advantage is leverage — you can buy with 25% down. But that leverage is offset by ABSD (20% for SC 2nd, 60% for foreigners), holding costs, illiquidity, and concentration risk. Use this calculator to see your specific scenario: in many cases, property loses to a diversified ETF portfolio once all friction is accounted for.

Five big ones. (1) ABSD upfront — $300K on a $1.5M SC second property. (2) Vacancy — even strong rental markets see 5-10% annual vacancy. (3) Operating expenses — maintenance fees ($400-$800/month for condos), property tax, insurance, repairs add up to 15-20% of gross rent. (4) Mortgage interest — at 3.5% on a $1.1M loan, you pay $40K interest in year 1 alone. (5) Exit costs — SSD if you sell within 4 years (16-4%), plus 2% agent commission on sale.

Rental yield = (annual rent − annual expenses) / purchase price. It's a snapshot of one year's rental cash flow as a percentage of price. TOTAL return adds capital appreciation, subtracts mortgage interest, factors in leverage, and accounts for upfront and exit costs. A property with 3% net yield but 5% annual appreciation often has a 12-15% annualised total return because the appreciation is on the full $1.5M, while you only invested ~$450K cash. Yield and total return tell completely different stories.

Five red flags: (1) You're a foreigner — the 60% ABSD makes most scenarios uneconomic. (2) You plan to hold less than 4 years — SSD eats 4-16% of sale price. (3) The property is your only major asset — concentration risk in a single illiquid asset is dangerous. (4) Your annual cash flow is materially negative — funding shortfalls from other income compounds over 10 years. (5) Local market is in a clear bubble (rapid run-up, yields compressed below 2.5%) — better to wait for a reset.

If your hold period is less than 4 years (for properties acquired on/after 4 July 2025), SSD applies on the sale: 16% (year 1), 12% (year 2), 8% (year 3), 4% (year 4). The calculator computes this on the projected sale price and subtracts from your net exit proceeds. A warning surfaces in the results panel when hold years is under 4 — most investors should NOT sell within the SSD window because it typically wipes out years of capital appreciation.

This calculator doesn't model CPF accrued interest — a real cost if you used CPF Ordinary Account for the downpayment. When you sell, you must refund to CPF the amount used PLUS the accrued interest you would have earned (2.5% per year). On a $300K CPF outflow over 10 years, that's ~$85K of accrued interest that comes off your sale proceeds (back to CPF, not into cash). For investment scenarios where you're using cash for downpayment, this doesn't apply. For mixed CPF + cash scenarios, deduct the CPF-OA accrued interest from your "cash returned" mentally.