Refinancing home loan Singapore: when it's really worth it新加坡房贷转贷：什么时候真正划算

Refinancing versus repricing转贷与转套餐的区别

The two terms get used loosely, but they are different moves. Refinancing means switching your home loan to a different bank, chasing a lower rate or better terms, and it involves a fresh round of legal conveyancing and a new valuation, since a new bank is taking on the loan. Repricing, sometimes called conversion, means switching to a different package within your current bank, typically a faster, cheaper process since no new lawyer or valuer is required, though the rate improvement on offer is often smaller than what a competing bank would give you to win your business (per MoneySense, the Singapore government's financial education portal). The right move depends on how big the rate gap is and how much friction you are willing to absorb to get it.这两个词经常被混着用，但其实是两回事。转贷（refinancing）是把房贷换到另一家银行，以争取更低利率或更好条件，由于是新银行接手贷款，须重新走一轮产权转让手续和新的估值。转套餐（repricing，有时也叫 conversion）是在现有银行内换一个方案，通常更快、更省事，因为不需要新的律师或估值师，但银行给出的利率优惠往往比不上另一家银行为了争取你而开出的条件（见MoneySense，新加坡政府的金融教育平台）。该选哪条路，取决于利率差距有多大，以及你愿意承受多少手续上的麻烦。

Lock-in periods: the first hurdle锁定期：第一道门槛

Most home loan packages carry a lock-in period, commonly 1 to 3 years, tied to the promotional rate. Exit before it ends, whether by refinancing, selling, or fully repaying, and the bank typically charges a penalty around 1.5% of the outstanding loan amount, though the exact figure varies by bank and package. Once the lock-in period ends, you are free to refinance or reprice without that specific penalty, which is why most refinancing activity clusters around the end of each loan's lock-in window.大多数房贷套餐都附带锁定期，通常为 1 至 3 年，与优惠利率挂钩。若在锁定期结束前退出，无论是转贷、卖房还是提前全额还清，银行通常会收取约未清贷款额 1.5% 的罚款，具体数字因银行和套餐而异。锁定期一旦结束，你就可以自由转贷或转套餐，而不会触发这项罚款，这也是为什么大部分转贷活动都集中在各笔贷款锁定期结束前后。

Legal and valuation subsidy clawbacks: the hidden second hurdle律师费与估值补贴回扣：隐藏的第二道门槛

Many bank packages sweeten the deal with a subsidy covering legal fees, valuation costs, or both, commonly in the range of S$1,500 to S$3,000. That subsidy typically comes with a clawback clause: refinance, sell, or fully repay within a set clawback period, often 2 to 3 years, and the bank can require you to repay it. The clawback period is a separate clock from the lock-in period and can run longer, so a loan can be free of lock-in penalties in year 2 but still trigger a subsidy repayment if the clawback runs to year 3. Read the letter of offer for both dates before assuming you are free to switch.许多银行套餐会以补贴律师费、估值费或两者兼有的方式来吸引客户，金额通常在 S$1,500 到 S$3,000 之间。这类补贴通常附带回扣条款：若在设定的回扣期内（常见为 2 至 3 年）转贷、卖房或提前全额还清，银行可以要求你把这笔补贴退还。回扣期与锁定期是两条独立的时间线，回扣期往往更长，因此一笔贷款可能在第 2 年已经没有锁定期罚款，但若回扣期到第 3 年才结束，仍会触发补贴退还。在假设自己可以自由转贷之前，先把批款书上的两个日期都看清楚。

Every refinancing conversation I have starts with two dates, not the new rate: when does your lock-in end, and when does your legal/valuation subsidy clawback end. I have seen clients quote each other a great new rate from a banker friend, then discover the subsidy clawback alone erases eighteen months of savings. Get both dates from your letter of offer before you shop rates, not after.我每次和客户谈转贷，开场都是问两个日期，而不是新利率：你的锁定期什么时候结束，律师费/估值补贴的回扣期什么时候结束。我见过客户从做银行的朋友那听到一个很棒的新利率，结果后来才发现，光是补贴回扣就吃掉了十八个月的省息。先从批款书上把这两个日期弄清楚，再去比较利率，顺序不能反。

A worked example: does it clear the payback test?完整算例：能不能通过回本测试？

Every number here is an illustration, not a quote. A borrower has S$600,000 outstanding on a loan at 4.0% p.a. with 20 years remaining, past their lock-in period but 6 months from the end of their subsidy clawback window (estimated S$2,000 remaining clawback):以下每个数字都是示例，不是报价。一位借款人尚欠 S$600,000，现行利率 4.0%，剩余年限 20 年，已过锁定期，但距补贴回扣期结束还有 6 个月（估计尚需退还补贴 S$2,000）:

• Current monthly instalment at 4.0%: roughly S$3,635.目前 4.0% 利率下的月供：约 S$3,635。
• New rate on offer: 3.0%. New monthly instalment: roughly S$3,329, a saving of about S$306 a month.新的报价利率：3.0%。新月供：约 S$3,329，每月约省 S$306。
• Refinancing costs (estimate): legal fees roughly S$2,500 plus the S$2,000 subsidy clawback still owed = S$4,500.转贷成本（估计）：律师费约 S$2,500，加上仍须偿还的 S$2,000 补贴回扣 = S$4,500。
• Payback period: S$4,500 ÷ S$306 a month ≈ 14.7 months, comfortably inside a typical 24-month payback bar many buyers use as a rule of thumb.回本期：S$4,500 ÷ 每月 S$306 ≈ 14.7 个月，明显低于许多买家常用的 24 个月回本经验法则。
• Waiting 6 months for the clawback to expire would remove that S$2,000 cost, but also gives up 6 months of the S$306 saving (S$1,836), a smaller net gain than it first appears.若等 6 个月让回扣期届满，可省下这 S$2,000，但同时也放弃了 6 个月的省息（S$1,836），实际净收益并没有表面看起来那么大。

What you need to have ready需要提前准备哪些文件

A refinancing application asks for largely the same paperwork as your original loan: recent payslips or, for the self-employed, Notices of Assessment for the last 2 years, your CPF contribution history, your latest home loan statement showing the outstanding balance, and identification documents. The new bank will also run its own TDSR check, so a change in your income, other debts, or credit standing since your original loan can affect the rate or quantum offered, not just the property's valuation. Start gathering these roughly a month before your lock-in ends so you are not scrambling to submit a complete application while your old rate is already rolling into its post-promotional, typically higher, floating rate.转贷申请所需的文件，和当初申请房贷时大致相同：近期的工资单，若是自雇人士则需近 2 年的所得税评税通知书、公积金缴纳记录、目前贷款的最新结单（显示未清余额），以及身份证明文件。新银行也会重新做一次 TDSR 审核，因此自你申请原贷款以来，若收入、其他债务或信用状况有变化，可能会影响银行给出的利率或贷款额度，而不仅仅取决于房产的估值。建议在锁定期结束前约一个月就开始准备这些文件，以免旧套餐已经转入优惠期后通常更高的浮动利率，你才手忙脚乱地补交完整申请。

Remember: HDB to bank is a one-way door切记：HDB 转银行是单向门

If your current loan is an HDB concessionary loan, you can refinance to a bank at any time with no HDB-side penalty, only the usual legal and valuation costs. But HDB flat buyers are not allowed to refinance a bank loan back into an HDB loan once they have left (per MoneySense). This makes the decision to leave a fixed 2.6% HDB loan for a floating bank rate worth thinking through carefully, since a rate environment that later moves against you cannot be undone by switching back.如果你目前是 HDB 优惠贷款，可以随时转贷至银行，不会有 HDB 方面的罚款，只需承担正常的律师费与估值费用。但 HDB 组屋买家一旦转出，就无法把银行贷款转回 HDB 贷款（见 MoneySense）。这意味着，是否要放弃固定 2.6% 的 HDB 贷款、转向浮动的银行利率，值得慎重考虑，因为日后若利率走势对你不利，也无法再转回去。

Why most floating rates now track SORA为什么如今大多数浮动利率都挂钩 SORA

If you took a bank loan before 2022, your reference rate may still be a bank's internal board rate or the old SIBOR benchmark. Since 2022, virtually all new and refinanced packages reference the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA), a benchmark compounded from actual overnight lending transactions rather than a bank-quoted estimate, which regulators favoured for being harder to manipulate and more transparent. If your existing loan still sits on an older benchmark, refinancing or repricing onto a SORA-pegged package is often worth comparing on its own merits, since some legacy board rates can drift higher than a comparable SORA package over time, independent of whatever headline promotional rate first attracted you.如果你是在 2022 年之前申请的银行贷款，你的参考利率可能仍是银行的内部板价（board rate）或旧的 SIBOR 基准。自 2022 年起，几乎所有新贷款与转贷套餐都改为挂钩新加坡隔夜利率均值（SORA），这是根据实际隔夜拆借交易复合计算出的基准，而非银行自行报出的估计值，监管机构更青睐它，因为更难被操纵、也更透明。如果你现有的贷款仍挂钩较旧的基准，单独比较一下转贷或转套餐到 SORA 挂钩方案是否划算，往往是值得的，因为一些旧式板价随着时间推移，可能会比同类的 SORA 套餐走得更高，这与最初吸引你的优惠利率数字本身无关。

When to actually review your loan究竟什么时候该检视你的房贷

Three moments are worth a review: roughly 3 to 6 months before your lock-in ends, so you can line up a new package to start the day the old one expires with no gap in coverage; whenever your bank's floating reference rate moves meaningfully after your fixed period reverts; and whenever your financial position changes enough to affect TDSR headroom, since that shifts which banks will compete for your loan. Outside those moments, the admin cost of switching rarely clears the payback bar. Read next: if the rate change is prompted by needing more room on your books, the home loan guide covers TDSR and MSR from scratch.有三个时机值得检视房贷：锁定期结束前约 3 至 6 个月，以便提前敲定新套餐，在旧套餐到期当天无缝衔接；固定利率期满转为浮动后，银行参考利率出现明显变动时；以及，你的财务状况发生足以影响 TDSR 空间的变化时，因为这会改变哪些银行愿意来争取你的贷款。除了这几个时机，转贷的手续成本通常很难通过回本测试。延伸阅读：如果换贷是因为需要腾出更多贷款空间，房屋贷款指南从头讲解了 TDSR 与 MSR。