Reprice or Refinance? Making the Right Call When Your Rate Ends
Same bank or new bank. One is faster and cheaper, the other opens the whole market. Here's how the costs, the timing and the maths actually compare — and the one decision HDB owners can never reverse.
Somewhere in a drawer is a letter telling you when your fixed rate ends. Most people file it and forget it — and that is precisely the expensive move. When a fixed period expires, your loan does not politely pause and wait for instructions. It rolls onto a variable rate the bank chooses, and it keeps rolling until you do something about it.
You have two ways to do something. Reprice — take a new package from the bank you are already with. Or refinance — move the loan to a different bank entirely. They sound like the same decision. They are not: they differ in cost, in how long they take, and in what you are allowed to do afterwards.
What actually happens if you do nothing
This is the part worth understanding before anything else, because it is the baseline every other option is measured against.
The Association of Banks in Singapore puts it plainly in its own home-loan guide: after the fixed-rate period, the interest rate becomes variable, and the loan then works like a variable-rate loan. A "two-year fixed" home loan is not a two-year loan. It is a two-year fixed rate bolted onto a mortgage that may still have twenty-five years to run.
The rate it reverts to is set by the bank. It is rarely the sharpest number they have, because the sharpest numbers are reserved for customers who ask. Staying silent is a choice, and it is usually the costliest one on the menu.
The costs, side by side
These are the figures banks publish as at August 2026. Treat them as the shape of the decision rather than a quote — law firms set their own fees, and promotions move.
| Reprice (same bank) | Refinance (new bank) | |
|---|---|---|
| Admin / conversion fee | Roughly S$500–S$1,000; often waived | None |
| Legal & valuation | None | DBS: "usually above S$2,000" |
| Bank subsidy available | Rarely | Commonly — cash rebate or legal-fee subsidy |
| Time to complete | About 1 month | About 2–3 months |
| Paperwork | Minimal — often a form | Full application, new mortgage registered |
| Choice of rate | Whatever that bank offers you | The whole market |
Two details that catch people out. First, many packages already include a free conversion: OCBC, for instance, publishes that a S$500 processing fee applies "unless your existing loan package allows for a one-time fee-free switch". Before you assume repricing costs anything, look at your letter of offer. Second, the headline saving on a refinance is often funded by a subsidy — UOB has published cash rebates of S$2,000 on refinancing packages from a minimum S$450,000 loan, rising to S$2,500 from S$1,000,000. That money is real, but it comes with a string attached, which we will get to.
The timing, and why two months matters
Refinancing feels slow because most of the wait is not the new bank's doing — it is the notice you owe your current one.
Since 1 July 2021 the industry shortened the redemption notice period on Singapore property loans from three months to two; UOB published the change explicitly. Two months is now the usual requirement. Give less notice and you can be charged interest in lieu, which quietly eats the saving you were chasing.
Work backwards from that:
- Four months out — start comparing. DBS lets you reprice from four months before your commitment period expires.
- Three months out — decide, and if refinancing, get the application moving.
- Two months out — notice must be with your existing bank.
- Expiry — the new rate takes over with no gap at the reversion rate.
The break-even, in one line of arithmetic
Every comparison reduces to this:
Cost to switch ÷ monthly saving = months to break even.
Take a S$600,000 outstanding balance with 20 years to run. A rate improvement of 0.5% is worth roughly S$250 a month early in the loan, when the balance is high and most of the payment is interest. If refinancing costs S$2,500 net of any subsidy, you are square in about ten months — comfortably worth it if you plan to keep the property.
Now run it on S$150,000 with eight years left. The same 0.5% saves closer to S$60 a month, and the same S$2,500 takes over forty months to recover. On a loan that size, repricing — especially a free conversion — usually wins, and sometimes staying put is genuinely the right answer.
The banks set floors of their own, too. DBS requires a minimum S$100,000 balance and more than five years of remaining tenure for online repricing; OCBC sets a S$100,000 minimum for refinancing. Small, nearly-finished loans have fewer options than people expect.
HDB owners: the one door that only opens one way
That does not make it a bad move. A bank rate below the HDB concessionary rate saves real money, and an HDB loan has no lock-in and no early-repayment penalty, so leaving is mechanically easy. But it is a one-way door, and the thing you give up is not the rate — it is the option to return to a loan whose rate has been remarkably stable for decades, at the exact moment you might most want it.
Weigh it over the life of the loan, not over the next two years. And note that if you buy a different flat later, eligibility for a concessionary loan on that purchase is assessed separately.
One more distinction worth keeping straight: an HDB flat financed by a bank loan is not treated identically to a private property. The Mortgage Servicing Ratio applies to HDB flats and executive condominiums, and it does not apply to private homes — so the affordability test you face can differ even when the loan looks the same.
The traps
Clawback is a different clock from lock-in
This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it costs real money. Your lock-in period is how long before you can leave without an early-redemption penalty — typically two to three years, with the penalty usually around 1.5% of the outstanding amount, though neither figure is universal. Your clawback period is how long you must stay before the bank stops being entitled to reclaim the subsidy it paid you.
They are set separately and they frequently do not expire together. A loan that is free to leave on the lock-in clock can still cost you S$2,000–S$3,000 on the subsidy clock. The window is defined in your letter of offer — not by a rule of thumb — so read that document rather than trusting a general figure.
The reversion rate is not advertised
Banks rarely lead with what happens after the promotional period. It is in the letter of offer, expressed as a spread over a reference rate. Find it before you sign anything, because it is the rate you will actually pay if life gets busy and you miss the window.
A repricing offer is not automatically a good offer
Your existing bank knows switching is a hassle. The first number they send is not always their best, and it is not always market. Getting one comparison quote costs you nothing and changes the conversation.
Where rates sit right now
Singapore home loans are priced off SORA — the Singapore Overnight Rate Average, a transaction-based benchmark administered and published by MAS. Retail packages use the 1-month or 3-month compounded versions.
If you are searching old advice, ignore anything mentioning SIBOR or SOR. Both are gone: SOR ceased after 30 June 2023 and SIBOR was discontinued after 31 December 2024. Legacy SIBOR loans were converted to SORA with a fixed adjustment spread — 0.2426% for 1-month SIBOR and 0.3571% for 3-month SIBOR, moving to 3-month compounded SORA.
As at 20 August 2026, 1-month compounded SORA was about 1.20% and 3-month about 1.14%, against a 2023–24 peak near 3.75%. Rates are far below that peak — but 3-month SORA bottomed around 1.03% and has been drifting upward since, so this is not a market where waiting is obviously rewarded. Check the current figure before you decide; this snapshot will age.
So which one?
Reprice when your balance is modest, your package includes a free conversion, you want it done in a month, or your bank's offer is genuinely competitive when checked against one other quote.
Refinance when your balance is large enough that a rate difference outruns S$2,000–S$3,000 of costs, when a subsidy covers most of that anyway, or when your own bank's offer does not survive comparison.
Do nothing only if you have actually read the reversion rate and decided you are happy paying it. That is a real position. Drifting into it by accident is not.
Deciding whether to refinance, or whether to move?
A refinance only makes sense against what the property is actually worth today. Get a free, data-backed estimate in about 60 seconds — then we can look at your loan, your equity and your options together.
Get my free valuation Want a second opinion on a repricing offer? Message us on WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between repricing and refinancing?
Repricing means switching to a different loan package with the bank you are already with. Refinancing means moving the loan to a different bank altogether. Repricing is faster and cheaper because there is no new mortgage to register; refinancing opens up the whole market and often comes with a cash or legal-fee subsidy.
What happens if I do nothing when my fixed rate ends?
Your loan doesn't end — it converts to a variable rate. The Association of Banks in Singapore states that after the fixed-rate period the interest rate becomes variable and the loan then works like a variable rate loan. That reversion rate is set by the bank and is usually well above what it would offer a customer who asks. Doing nothing is a decision, and normally the most expensive one.
How much does it cost to reprice or refinance?
Repricing is cheaper: banks that publish a conversion fee charge roughly S$500 to S$1,000, and many packages include a free switch — OCBC charges a one-time S$500 unless your package allows a fee-free switch. Refinancing carries legal and valuation costs, which DBS puts at usually above S$2,000, though banks frequently offset them with a subsidy or cash rebate. Figures as at August 2026 and vary by bank.
How long does it take?
Repricing typically takes about a month. Refinancing takes roughly two to three months end to end, because the clock is dominated by the redemption notice you owe your existing bank rather than by processing time. Start comparing about four months before your lock-in or commitment period expires.
Can I switch back to an HDB loan after refinancing with a bank?
No. CPF Board states that once you refinance your HDB loan with a bank you will no longer be able to switch back, and that bank-to-HDB is not possible. Afterwards your options are repricing with that bank or refinancing to another. You may still be eligible for a concessionary loan on a subsequent flat purchase, but not on that flat.
What is the notice period to refinance?
Since 1 July 2021 the industry shortened the redemption notice period on Singapore property loans from three months to two — UOB published the change explicitly. Two months is the usual requirement now, but check your own facility letter; give short notice and you can be charged interest in lieu.
What is a legal subsidy clawback?
When a bank pays your legal and valuation fees, or gives a cash rebate, it does so on condition you keep the loan with them for a set period. Leave early and you repay it. Critically, this clawback window is a separate clock from your lock-in and is often longer — so a loan that's free to leave can still be expensive to leave. The exact window is in your letter of offer.
Will my instalment drop immediately after repricing?
Usually not. OCBC states the revised monthly instalment begins two months after the revised interest rate takes effect. Expect a lag between the new rate starting and the payment changing.
Is my loan too small to be worth refinancing?
It can be. Divide the cost of switching by the monthly saving to get your break-even in months, then compare with how long you'll hold the loan. Banks set floors too: DBS requires a minimum S$100,000 balance and more than five years' remaining tenure for online repricing, and OCBC sets a S$100,000 minimum for refinancing.
Written 22 August 2026. Figures and mechanics were checked against MAS, CPF Board, HDB, the Association of Banks in Singapore, and the published pages of DBS, OCBC, UOB and Standard Chartered on that date. Rates, fees and promotions change frequently and differ by bank and by package — always confirm against your own letter of offer and the bank's current terms. This is general information about how the options work, not financial advice, and it does not take account of your particular circumstances.
Photograph: Bishan HDB apartment block by MapStaringEnthusiast, released under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.