Singapore is home to the largest concentration of Australian expatriates in Asia. Finance
professionals, corporate executives, lawyers, technologists, and entrepreneurs who relocated to
Singapore many in the 2000s and 2010s, when Singapore’s financial sector was expanding rapidly and compensation packages were compelling frequently maintained their Australian
property as a long-term asset. Some purchased before leaving. Others acquired remotely during
their time in Singapore, recognising that Australian property would continue to compound regardless of where they lived.
CONTACT DONALD KLIP — GLOBAL MORTGAGE GROUP
Equity Release | Bridging Loans | Bridge Financing | Australian Property
[email protected] | +65 9773-0273 | www.gmg.asia
Those assets have performed extraordinarily. A Sydney or Melbourne property held through a
Singapore posting that began in 2008 or 2010 has, in most cases, more than doubled in value.
The equity is real, documented, and substantial. The challenge is accessing it because the
Australian banking system, designed for borrowers earning Australian dollars in Australia,
cannot process the Singapore dollar income of a non-resident borrower efficiently or at all.
The Singapore Dollar Income Problem
Australian lenders apply income shading to SGD earnings typically accepting 60 to 80 percent of gross Singapore dollar salary for serviceability purposes. For a Singapore-based borrower earning SGD 300,000 annually, the assessable income for an Australian bank equity release application may be reduced to the equivalent of SGD 180,000 to 240,000 in Australian dollar terms. On top of the shading, the SGD-AUD exchange rate applies, and the resulting assessable income figure is then stress-tested at the Australian banks serviceability buffer rate of approximately 3 percentage points above the actual loan rate.
The compounding effect of income shading, currency conversion, and serviceability buffers means that many Singapore-based Australians earning good salaries, holding strong Australian property, and maintaining clean credit profiles cannot access conventional equity release through Australian banks. The income test fails before the asset quality is even considered.
GMG’s Singapore-to-Australia Bridge: How It Works
GMG operates from Singapore and understands the Singapore expat borrower profile in detail the employment structures common in Singapore’s financial sector, the typical asset profiles of Australians who have built careers there, and the specific documentation requirements for cross-border equity release applications.
Our Australian equity release and bridging loan facilities for Singapore-based borrowers are assessed on Australian property value and LVR not on SGD income or the income shading calculations that block conventional bank applications. A Singapore-based Australian with a Sydney property worth AUD 2.5 million and no existing mortgage can, in principle, access up to AUD 1.5 to 1.75 million in equity release at 60 to 70 percent LVR, assessed on the basis of the property asset alone.
We operate across Singapore and Australian time zones, which means Singapore-based borrowers can have real-time conversations with our team without the time zone friction that dealing with an Australian-only lender involves.
What Singapore-Based Australians Use Equity Release For
The most common uses we see from Singapore-based Australian property owners are: acquiring a Singapore or regional property using Australian equity as the capital source; funding an investment in SGD-denominated assets while retaining AUD property exposure; repatriating capital to Australia ahead of a planned return; bridging a settlement gap on a new Australian acquisition; and accessing liquidity for a Singapore-based business purpose.
We also regularly work with Singapore-based Australians who want to use their Australian property equity to access the US real estate market often through America Mortgages, GMG’s US-focused subsidiary deploying Australian equity into USD-denominated property that their Singapore income base positions them to service.
FIRB Clarity for Singapore-Based Owners
The Australian Government’s temporary ban on foreign investors purchasing established homes (April 2025 to March 2027) applies to new purchases, not to equity release against existing holdings. Singapore-based Australian citizens and permanent residents who already own Australian property can access equity release and bridging loans against that property regardless of their residency status. Temporary residents and non-citizens should seek specific advice on their individual FIRB position before proceeding with any new Australian property transaction.
"Singapore is where we sit, and it is where a significant part of the Australian expat community sits. The connection between Singapore- based wealth and Australian property equity is one we understand as well as anyone in the market and bridge financing is the mechanism that makes it work."
— Donald Klip, Co-Founder and CIO, Global Mortgage Group
CONTACT DONALD KLIP — GLOBAL MORTGAGE GROUP
Equity Release | Bridging Loans | Bridge Financing | Australian Property
[email protected] | +65 9773-0273 | www.gmg.asia
Getting Started from Singapore
GMG’s Singapore office is available for calls, video meetings, and in-person discussions for qualifying borrowers. We operate in Singapore Standard Time and Australian Eastern and Western time zones. Contact Donald Klip directly at [email protected] or +65 9773-0273 to discuss your Australian property equity release.
CONTACT DONALD KLIP — GLOBAL MORTGAGE GROUP
Equity Release | Bridging Loans | Bridge Financing | Australian Property
