The Progressive Payment Scheme explained for new launch buyers

What the Progressive Payment Scheme is

When you buy a private residential property that is still under construction — a "Building Under Construction" (BUC) unit, which most new launches are — you do not pay the whole price at once. You pay it progressively, in instalments tied to construction milestones.

As each stage of the building is completed and certified, the developer issues a payment request, and a corresponding slice of your bank loan is drawn down. This is the Progressive Payment Scheme (PPS).

Why it exists

The scheme protects buyers: you pay for the building roughly as it gets built, rather than handing over the full sum up front for something that does not yet exist. It also means your loan is disbursed gradually — so in the early years you pay instalments only on the portion drawn down so far.

The stages, in plain terms

Payment is released in steps that follow construction. The typical sequence is:

• An initial booking payment when you book the unit.
• A further payment when you sign the Sale & Purchase Agreement.
• Payments as the foundation, the reinforced-concrete framework, the brick walls, the roofing, and the finishes — ceiling, wiring, plastering — are each completed.
• A payment when the project receives its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP), the point at which you can collect keys.
• A final payment on the Certificate of Statutory Completion, with a small sum often held briefly to cover any defects.

The exact percentage payable at each stage is fixed by standard rules. [VERIFY CURRENT RATE — 2026] for the precise percentage at each milestone before you budget.

What it means for your monthly cash flow

This is the part that matters most for planning.

• In the early construction years, only a small share of your loan has been drawn down, so your monthly repayment is small.
• As more stages complete, more of the loan is disbursed, and your monthly repayment steadily rises.
• By TOP, the loan is close to fully drawn, and you are paying a full monthly instalment.

So a new launch starts cheap to hold and gets more expensive over time. Budget for the full instalment, not the early one.

Progressive payment vs a resale purchase

With a completed resale unit there is no progressive schedule — the loan is fully disbursed on completion and your full instalment begins straight away. With a new launch under PPS, the cost ramps up instead. Neither is automatically cheaper overall; they simply spread the cost differently.

A few practical points:

• Because the loan draws down in stages, your early interest cost is lower — useful if you are still selling another property or letting savings work elsewhere in the meantime.
• You still need to qualify for the full loan amount up front; the staged drawdown does not reduce how much you must be approved to borrow.
• Your stamp duties are payable early in the purchase, regardless of the progressive schedule.

Before you rely on any numbers

PPS percentages, loan-to-value limits and stamp duty rates are all set by rules that can change. Use this guide to understand the structure — then [VERIFY CURRENT RATE — 2026] and speak to a banker and a licensed salesperson for figures specific to your purchase and your finances.