No matter what kind of property you’re buying, UOB has made sure that there’s something for you. On top of typical fixed and floating home loan packages, UOB has an extra home loan category which is a combination of both fixed and floating rates.
Home loans are not easy to wrap your head around, even more so when there are multiple options involved. We’re here to hold your hand through the process so you can weigh all your home loan choices before settling on the best one.
If you’re buying diving head in to the property market and are looking for a home loan, here’s a guide to the different home loans UOB offer.
Contents
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- Overview of UOB Home Loan
- UOB Home Loan Calculator
- UOB Home Loan Rate: Fixed Interest Rate
- UOB Home Loans: Floating Interest Rate (3M SORA)
- UOB Home Loan Rates: Combination of Fixed & Floating
- UOB Home Loan Refinancing
- UOB Home Loan Repricing
- UOB Home Loan Promotions
- Home Loan Rates: DBS vs OCBC vs UOB
- UOB Home Loan Hotline
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1. UOB Home Loan: Summary
UOB offers 3 different types of home loans:
| UOB Home Loan | What is it |
| Fixed Rate | UOB determines the rate for 2 years, subsequently changes to floating rate |
| Floating Rate (3M SORA) | Pegged to 3-month SORA, which is a market rate published by MAS |
| Fixed & Floating Combo | A combination of both UOB fixed rate and floating 3M SORA rate |
You’re probably super familiar with the usual 2 types of home loans– fixed and floating rate home loans.
These days, there’s a new type of home loan called Fixed & Floating Combo – a combination fixed and floating interest rates.
Huh, how is that possible?
A combination fixed and floating rate home loan basically charges half the loan amount to a fixed interest rate while the other half is charged the floating interest rate (eg. 3M SORA) for the first 2 years. Thereafter, the interest rate will be entirely floating.
Interesting, right? Let’s get to it in detail later.
2. UOB Home Loan Calculator
Usually, the banks’ home loan calculators tend to come in very handy. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for UOB’s home loan calculators. It’s basically a TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) calculator that tells you how much loan you’re eligible for given your salary, and any cash savings you have on hand. It doesn’t break down your monthly repayment and interests like DBS’ home loan calculator (monthly repayment) does.
For instance, if both you and your spouse make $96,000 per year in combined income, and are wondering: “What HDB BTO price bracket can I afford?”, the UOB Home Loan Calculator will tell you. You’ll first need to key in some information into the calculator:
- I earn: $48,000/year
- My spouse earns: $48,000/year
- Other current loans? No
- CPF/ Cash we currently have to pay downpayment: $50,000 and upwards
Let’s say both you and your spouse have $80,000 in your CPF. Key that in, and the UOB TDSR Calculator will then let you know that:
- The maximum property price you can afford will be: $292,397
You’ll need to pay the bank home loan 5% + 20% downpayment:
- 5% Cash bank home loan downpayment: $14,620
- 20% CPF/Cash downpayment: $58,479
Other fees:
- Buyer’s Stamp Duty: $4,048
- Legal Fees: $3,000
Considering the downpayments you have paid, the remaining amount you need to borrow from the bank will be:
- Bank home loan amount: $219,298
- Loan tenure: 25 years
- Average monthly repayments: $984 (at 2.5% interest), $1,098 (at 3.5% interest)
3. UOB Home Loan Rate: Fixed Interest Rates (Unavailable)
Note: UOB removed its fixed home loan packages from its official website as at 23 September 2022.
| UOB Home Loan: 2-year fixed rate | |||
| Year 1 – Year 2 | 2.98% p.a. | ||
| Year 3 and thereafter | 3M SORA + 1.50% p.a. | ||
As of 30 June 2022, along with other major banks like DBS and OCBC, UOB raised interest rates on its 2-year fixed rate package from 2.65% p.a. to 2.98% p.a..
| UOB Home Loan: 3-year fixed rate | |||
| Year 1 – Year 3 | 3.08% p.a. | ||
| Year 4 and thereafter | 3M SORA + 1.50% p.a. | ||
On the other hand, UOB home loan’s 3-year fixed rate package saw a hike from 2.8% p.a. to 3.08% p.a..
The appeal of a fixed rate home loan has always been the stability that it offers. Regardless of what happens to the world at large, your monthly home loan repayments will remain the same.
However, fixed rate home loans usually have higher interest rates. Well, you pay a little more to go to sleep at night with one thing less to worry.
What happens after your locked-in years end? At the end of your lock-in period (usually 2 or 3 years), your home loan will automatically be converted to a floating rate of 3M SORA + 1.50% p.a. for the remaining 20+ years. At this point, homeowners tend to renegotiate another fixed interest rate with their banks (called repricing), or with another bank (called refinancing).
Bottom Line: Given UOB home loan’s current 2-year fixed rate of 2.98% p.a. and 3-year fixed rate of 3.08% p.a., if you’re looking for fixed rate home loans, you might be better off with a HDB Loan (2.6% p.a.).
If you do decide to go with a UOB fixed home loan, UOB will allow you to reprice your home loan with no fees involved. This means that you can opt for another UOB home loan package 2 to 3 years later, after your lock-in period is over. However, bear in mind, there’s no telling what the market might look like in 2 years from now. Ick!
4. UOB Home Loan Rate: Floating Interest Rates (3M SORA)
The other conventional home loan you’ll want to look at are the floating interest rate packages. Unlike the former, floating interest rates are sensitive to changes in the economy as it is pegged to the 3M SORA.
What is 3M SORA? 3M SORA literally refers to the 3-month Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) which is based on the actual borrowing transactions between banks. As its name suggests, this figure changes every 3 months and this will directly affect your floating home loan interest rate.
UOB’s floating home loan interests rates vary depending on your loan quantum.
UOB Home Loan quantum between $100,000 to $300,000 (July 2022):
| UOB Home Loan: 2-year lock-in 3M SORA + 1% p.a. | |||
| Year 1 – Year 2 | 3M SORA + 1% p.a. | ||
| Year 3 – thereafter | 3M SORA + 1% p.a. | ||
| Commitment period | 2 years | ||
UOB Home Loan quantum above $350,000:
| UOB Home Loan: 2-year lock-in 3M SORA + 0.7% p.a. | |||
| Year 1 – Year 2 | 3M SORA + 0.7% p.a. | ||
| Year 3 | 3M SORA + 0.8% p.a. | ||
| Commitment period | 2 years | ||
*3M SORA is 2.065% for October 2022
At 2.765% or 2.865% p.a., UOB home loans’ floating interest rates are currently higher than the de facto HDB Loan’s 2.6% interest rates.
Will the SORA remain so attractive? You might not be able to predict the future but the upward trajectory of 3M SORA rates in the past year is a hint of where the future is headed:
| Month | 3M SORA Rate |
| Jan 2022 | 0.194% |
| Feb 2022 | 0.206% |
| Mar 2022 | 0.250% |
| Apr 2022 | 0.276% |
| May 2022 | 0.322% |
| June 2022 | 0.526% |
| July 2022 | 0.772% |
| August 2022 | 1.271% |
| September 2022 | 1.596% |
| October 2022 | 2.065% |
However, after the 2 or 3 year lock-in period, your floating rate package would be subjected to change.
Before taking on a floating rate home loan package, be mentally and financially prepared for fluctuating rates that can affect your cash flow. If push comes to shove, you will have to foot higher interest rate payments.
5. UOB Home Loan Rate: Combination of Fixed & Floating (July 2022)
The third type of home loan that UOB offers is a combination of fixed and floating rates. It’s the most complicated of the three home loan options that UOB offers. Let’s see if you really can get the best of both worlds:
| UOB Home Loan: 2-year lock-in combination of fixed & floating | |||
| Year 1 – Year 2 | 2.98% p.a. for 50% loan + 3M SORA + 1.08% p.a. for 50% loan |
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| Thereafter | 3M SORA + 1.5% p.a. for 50% loan + 3M SORA + 1.4% p.a. for 50% loan |
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| Commitment period | 2 years | ||
*3M SORA is 2.065% for October 22
If you take a combined fixed and floating interest rate:
Fixed Rate portion: 2.98% p.a.
Floating Rate portion: 3.145% p.a.
Average Interest Rate: (2.98% + 3.145%)/2 = 3.0625%
Is the UOB Combo Fixed and Floating any cheaper than other conventional fixed and floating home loans?
Let’s try it out with an example. For instance, I am taking a $300,000 loan for BTO over 25 years. I am trying to find out which home loan will charge me lesser interest for the first 2 years:
| Interest Rate | Total Interest Payable (2 years) | |
| HDB Loan | 2.6% | $15,168 |
| UOB Fixed Home Loan | 2.98% (Unavailable) | $17,409 |
| UOB Floating Home Loan | 3M SORA + 0.7% = 2.765% | $16,111 |
| UOB Combo Fixed + Floating Home Loan | 2.98% for half of loan quantum, 3M SORA + 1.08% for half loan quantum = 3.0625% average |
$17,882 |
In the short run, the HDB loan will still incur the least in interest.
Having done the math, you can then conclude that the UOB floating rate home loan package will your next best bet.
6. UOB Home Loan Refinance Rates
It’s easy to mix up refinancing vs repricing but one is quite different from the other. If you’re looking to refinance your home loan, this means you’re switching to another bank to leverage on their lower rates. Refinancing your home loan is a cumbersome process that will also involve lawyers and legal fees.
Refinancing will commonly entail fees such as:
- 1.5% fee on the outstanding loan amount
- Legal fees ($1,500 for HDB and $1,800 for private property)
- Valuation fee ($160.50)
UOB’s refinance home loan packages are no different from its usual home loan packages. To refresh your memory, here are the interest rates:
| UOB Refinance Home Loan | Interest Rates |
| Fixed Rate (Unavailable) | Year 1 – Year 2: 2.98% p.a. fixed
Thereafter: 3M SORA + 1.5% p.a. |
| Floating Rate | Year 1 – Year 2: 3M SORA + 0.7% p.a.
Year 3: 3M SORA + 0.8% p.a. |
| Combo Fixed & Floating (July 2022) | Year 1 – Year 2:
2.98% p.a. for 50% loan Thereafter: 3M SORA +1.5% p.a. for 50% loan |
7. UOB Home Loan Reprice Rates
The other option that you have at the end of the 2 year lock-in of your home loan package is to potentially change to another home loan package from the same bank. With UOB, you can do this home loan repricing at no extra cost.
On top of that, you will be privy to the same home loan packages as that offered to new customers which we’ve discussed earlier. It’s an incentive to keep customers within the bank. It’s not at all a bad idea given that you won’t have to hire additional costs when you reprice your UOB home loan package. Not only won’t you have to foot any administrative fees charged by the bank, you also won’t have to incur additional lawyer fees.
It’s also much less of a hassle than refinancing your home loan.
If you’re repricing your old UOB home loan to a new one, current UOB home loan interest rates are the same as above.
8. UOB Home Loan Promotions
Who doesn’t love free stuff? When you sign up for a home loan package online with UOB, you’re entitled to the following rewards:
| Loan Quantum | UOB Home Loan Promotion |
| $250,000 – $350,000 | Ecovacs Deebot U2 Pro Robotic Vacuum Cleaner worth $399 |
| $350,000 or more | Novita Countertop Water Purifier NP313 worth $699 |
Promotion lasts till 31 December 2022.
On top of that, if you’re looking to refinance your home loan, you’ll also enjoy a cash rebate of up to $2,000 and the following:
| Loan Quantum | UOB Home Loan Refinance Promotion |
| Min. $450,000 home loan | $2,200 Cash |
| Min. $680,000 home loan | $2,200 Cash $500 TANGS Gift Card |
| Min. S$1,100,000 home loan (limited) | $2,200 cash and Apple Watch Series 7 GPS + Cellular, 45mm Blue Aluminium |
| Min. S$1,680,000 home loan (limited) | $2,200 cash and iPhone 13 128GB Midnight |
9. Home Loan Rates: UOB vs DBS vs OCBC
The age old question remains. Which bank offers the best home loan packages? We compare three of the most popular bank home loans in Singapore – DBS home loan, OCBC home loan, and UOB home loan.
| Bank | Fixed Rate | Floating Rate (SORA) |
| DBS Home Loan | 2-year fixed at 3.5%
3-year fixed at 3.5% |
2-year lock-in:
3M SORA + 1% p.a. |
| OCBC Home Loan | (Unavailable) | 2-year lock-in:
1M SORA + 0.98% p.a. |
| UOB Home Loan | (Unavailable) | 2-year lock-in:
3M SORA + 0.70% p.a. |
Looking at fixed rate home loan packages across the board, UOB’s home loans rates are on par with OCBC to be the higher of the three. HDB Loan‘s fixed interest of 2.6% p.a. also offers a better proposition that UOB’s fixed rate home loan packages.
However, if you’re looking at floating rate home loan packages, UOB offers the most attractive floating interest rate across the three banks. The only catch is that your home loan amount has to at least be $300,000.
10. UOB Home Loan Hotline
If you need to speak to a UOB home loan specialist to get an official quotation through email or WhatsApp, there’s actually a dedicated UOB home loan hotline that you can call at 1800 388 2121 from 8am – 8pm daily.
Still looking for home loans? Here are the other home loans we’ve reviewed:
Best Home Loans Singapore – Most Affordable Housing Loans Reviewed
OCBC Home Loan Reviews Singapore
DBS Home Loan Reviews Singapore
BOC Home Loan Reviews Singapore
Maybank Home Loan Review Singapore