You pay in stages, not all at once. Because Dorset Gardens is a building under construction with expected completion in the second quarter of 2030, it follows the Progressive Payment Scheme: 5% on booking, a further 15% at signing, then eight staged payments tied to construction milestones. The full schedule is on the payment scheme page.
The First Two Payments Are the Ones That Matter
Within about ten weeks of booking you will have paid 20% of the purchase price. The 5% booking fee is paid in cash when the Option to Purchase is granted and cannot come from CPF. The remaining 15% falls due when the Sale and Purchase Agreement is signed, typically within eight weeks, and may draw on CPF Ordinary Account savings.
Stamp duty sits alongside this and is easy to underestimate. Buyer’s Stamp Duty and any Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty are payable in cash within 14 days of signing, and cannot be borrowed. For a Singapore Citizen buying a first home the duty is manageable; for a permanent resident or foreign buyer it can dwarf the downpayment itself. The stamp duty page has the tables.
The Staged Payments Through Construction
After the first 20%, payments follow construction: 10% on completion of foundation work, 10% on the reinforced concrete framework, then four 5% payments for partition walls, roofing and ceiling, electrical wiring and plumbing, and car park, roads and drains. That brings the cumulative total to 60%.
These are drawn from your housing loan rather than your pocket. The developer’s architect certifies each stage, the bank disburses against the certificate, and you are notified.
The Two Large Payments at the End
Temporary Occupation Permit carries 25%, which is the largest single stage, and legal completion on issue of the Certificate of Statutory Completion carries the final 15%. TOP is when you can take possession and begin fitting out; legal completion typically follows around a year later.
Maintenance fees begin at TOP, not at legal completion. That is worth budgeting for, since it is the point at which a unit starts costing money to hold whether or not you have moved in.
Why Your Instalment Starts Small
This is the part buyers most often get wrong, in a favourable direction. Your monthly repayment reflects only the loan disbursed so far, not the full loan quantum. In the first construction year, when perhaps 10% of the price has been drawn, the instalment can be a few hundred dollars a month rather than several thousand.
The instalment then steps up at each milestone until full disbursement at TOP. For a purchase completing in 2030, that means a gentle first two years and a full instalment only in the final stretch. The progressive payment calculator models this stage by stage so you can see the actual monthly figures rather than an average.
The practical implication for an upgrader is significant: you may be able to carry an existing home and a Dorset Gardens purchase concurrently for the first couple of years in a way that a completed property purchase would not allow. Whether you should is a separate question, and the Total Debt Servicing Ratio assessment on the housing loan page is where it gets settled.
What Is Not Available
Deferred payment schemes are not offered on standard new residential launches in Singapore. If something described in those terms is presented to you for this project, check it against the Sale and Purchase Agreement before relying on it.
Planning for It
Work out three numbers before you look at floor plans: the cash needed in the first fortnight, the total cash and CPF needed in the first ten weeks, and the instalment at full disbursement. The progressive payment calculator produces all three. Then register for the price list so you can apply them to real prices when they are issued.
The percentages above reflect the standard residential schedule. The stages that bind are those written into the Sale and Purchase Agreement for your specific unit — confirm with your conveyancing lawyer.
Register for Dorset Gardens Updates
Floor plans, the site plan, the e-brochure and the price list go to registered parties first.