By The Address desk · Last verified 4 October 2026
Repricing means switching to a new home loan package with the same bank; refinancing means moving the loan to a different bank. Either can cut your monthly instalment, but the timing matters: most bank packages carry a lock-in of about two to three years, and leaving early usually costs a prepayment penalty of around 1.5% of the amount redeemed. The sweet spot is the few months before your lock-in ends. One rule catches HDB owners out: you can move an HDB loan to a bank, but HDB does not let you refinance a bank loan back to HDB.
A home loan is not a marriage. Treat it like a phone plan you review every couple of years, and the savings can quietly add up to thousands.
Quick facts
- Repricing: same bank, new package. Usually quick, and often no new legal work.
- Refinancing: new bank. Needs a lawyer and a valuation; banks often offer subsidies that are clawed back if you leave again within the clawback period.
- HDB loan rate: 2.6% a year, pegged at 0.1 percentage point above the CPF Ordinary Account rate, with no lock-in.
- One-way door: HDB loan to bank loan is allowed; bank loan back to HDB is not.
- Benchmark: most floating packages track the 3-month compounded SORA, which stood at roughly 1.2% at the start of October 2026.
- TDSR: MAS has exempted the refinancing of owner-occupied home loans from the Total Debt Servicing Ratio limit since 2016.
Repricing or refinancing: which is which?
Both reset your interest rate; they differ in who lends to you and what paperwork follows. Ask your current bank for its repricing offer first, then compare it with what other banks will pay you to move.
| Repricing | Refinancing | |
|---|---|---|
| Lender | Same bank | New bank |
| Legal work | Usually minimal; some banks charge an admin or conversion fee | Conveyancing lawyer needed to discharge the old mortgage and register the new one |
| Valuation | Sometimes not needed | Needed; often paid or subsidised by the new bank |
| Choice of rates | Only your bank’s packages | The whole market |
| Speed | Often a few weeks | Typically two to three months; start well before the lock-in ends |
| Watch for | Repricing offers that trail the open market | Clawback of legal subsidies; a fresh lock-in |
When does switching actually pay?
Switching pays when three things line up: your lock-in has ended (or will end before the new loan starts), the rate gap is wide enough to matter, and the new bank’s subsidy covers most of your legal and valuation fees. If a lender has given you a subsidy, check the clawback clause too: leaving within the clawback window, often two to three years, means repaying it.
- Find your dates. Your letter of offer states the lock-in end date and any clawback period.
- Ask your bank to reprice. Get the offer in writing, including any conversion fee.
- Compare the market. Look at fixed and SORA-linked packages, and the rate after the first two or three years, not just year one.
- Count the costs. Legal fees, valuation, any penalty or clawback, and a new lock-in.
- Apply about three months ahead if refinancing, and give your current bank the notice its loan terms require.
A worked example
Take an outstanding loan of $500,000 with 20 years left. At the HDB rate of 2.6%, the monthly instalment is about $2,674. At a bank package of 1.6%, it is about $2,436, roughly $238 a month or about $2,860 a year less while that rate holds. That is a meaningful saving, but a floating rate can rise, and once the flat is on a bank loan the HDB option is gone for good. The same arithmetic works for any bank-to-bank move: compare the instalment at each rate, then subtract the costs of switching.
HDB owners: the one-way door
The HDB loan has a steady rate, no lock-in and no penalty for partial repayments. Bank rates have spent much of 2026 below it, which tempts many owners to switch. CPF Board says plainly that if your flat is financed with a bank loan, you will not be able to switch to an HDB housing loan for that property, and MND has confirmed HDB does not allow refinancing from banks to HDB. Switch only if you are comfortable carrying interest-rate risk for the rest of the loan. Our guide to HDB loans versus bank loans sets out the borrowing limits on each side.
The WahLiao Verdict
Put your lock-in end date in your calendar today, and three months before it, ask your bank to reprice and ask two or three other banks to bid. Pick the package with the lowest total cost over the lock-in, not the prettiest first-year rate. If you are on an HDB loan, switch only with a cash buffer and a clear head about rising rates, because there is no way back.
Questions people ask
Can I refinance while still in my lock-in?
Yes, but you will usually pay the prepayment penalty, commonly around 1.5% of the amount redeemed. On a $500,000 loan that is about $7,500, which normally wipes out the saving.
Fixed or floating?
Fixed buys certainty for the lock-in; floating (usually SORA plus a spread) passes rate moves to you each quarter. Choose fixed if a rise would strain your budget.
Do I need to pass TDSR again?
Not for an owner-occupied home: MAS exempts the refinancing of owner-occupied home loans from TDSR. Investment properties have extra conditions, so ask the bank.
Can I use CPF to pay the new loan?
Generally yes, within the usual CPF housing limits; your lawyer and CPF Board handle the transfer of the CPF charge. Check your CPF housing usage before you switch.
Sources: CPF Board, HDB and bank loans compared, and the no-switch-back rule; HDB, HDB loan interest rate; MND, why HDB does not refinance bank loans; MAS, SORA benchmark. Penalties, lock-ins and clawbacks vary by bank; your letter of offer governs. The Address explains; it does not advise.
Read next: HDB Loan or Bank Loan: LTV, MSR and TDSR Explained · CPF Accounts Explained · Back to The Address
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