Who Can Buy at Seascape, and What Stamp Duty Applies?

Published 30 October 2026 · IRAS, MAS and SLA rules as read on 30 October 2026

Who May Buy a Home at Seascape

Anyone may buy a home at Seascape: Singapore Citizens, Singapore Permanent Residents and foreigners alike, because every home in the development is a condominium unit. The difference between buyers lies in the stamp duty they pay, not in whether they are allowed to buy.

The Singapore Land Authority, which administers the Residential Property Act, lists a condominium unit among the residential properties a foreign person can purchase without approval. The same SLA page lists landed residential property at Sentosa Cove among the properties for which a foreign person must seek approval, assessed case by case. That rule concerns the houses of the enclave; it does not reach the apartments, penthouses or villas of a condominium such as Seascape, all of which sit within the two condominium blocks at 57 and 59 Cove Way.

Companies and other entities may also buy, at the entity rate of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty described below.

Put plainly, eligibility is not the question at Seascape; cost is. The stamp duty a buyer pays depends on three things IRAS asks about: whether the buyer is an individual or an entity, the buyer’s residency status, and how many residential properties the buyer already owns at the date of purchase.

Buyer’s Stamp Duty on a Seascape Purchase

Every purchase attracts Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), charged on the higher of the price and the market value. IRAS applies it in slices, each at its own rate, and adds the slices together. As at October 2026, the residential rates in force since 15 February 2023 are:

Source: IRAS, read on 30 October 2026. Rates can change; confirm with IRAS before signing.

Because the slices are cumulative, the effective rate rises gently with value rather than jumping at each threshold. The stamp duty calculator applies the slices to any figure you enter.

The distinction matters because Sentosa Cove contains both kinds of home. Its waterfront houses fall under the approval regime for landed property, while the apartments of its condominiums, Seascape among them, are open to foreign buyers on the same footing as any other condominium unit in Singapore. A foreign buyer of a Seascape home therefore deals only with stamp duty and financing, not with an approval application.

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for Seascape Buyers

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a single percentage on the whole price or value, paid on top of BSD. It depends on the buyer’s residency status and, for individuals, on how many residential properties they already own. The rates below apply to purchases on or after 27 April 2023.

Source: IRAS, read on 30 October 2026. When joint buyers have different profiles, the highest applicable rate applies to the whole value.

Two further points from IRAS are worth knowing. Nationals and permanent residents of the United States, and nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, are charged ABSD at the rates for Singapore Citizens under free trade agreements. And a married couple buying together, with at least one Singapore Citizen spouse and no other residential property between them, may apply for ABSD remission.

A Worked Illustration Unrelated to Seascape

To show how the two duties combine, take an illustrative figure of S$2,000,000. It is a round number chosen only for the arithmetic and is not the price of any home at this development; the current price list is sent on request.

Illustration only, at IRAS rates read on 30 October 2026; BSD is $1,800 + $3,600 + $19,200 + $20,000 + $25,000 on the five slices reached.

For a particular home, the duty follows the figure on the option and the buyer’s own profile, and the Seascape stamp duty page repeats the rates with notes on remission and refunds.

Budgeting Stamp Duty for a Seascape Purchase

Stamp duty is usually the largest cash item after the booking fee, and it cannot be paid from a bank loan drawn at completion, because it falls due within 14 days of signing. It can be met from cash or, within CPF Board’s rules, from CPF savings.

IRAS also provides relief in some situations. A married couple buying a second home together may claim a refund of the ABSD if they sell their first home within the period IRAS allows; and where joint buyers have different profiles, the highest applicable rate applies to the whole value, which is worth checking before deciding whose names go on the title.

Purchases by entities are charged ABSD at 65%, and IRAS applies the same 65% to a transfer of residential property to a trustee to hold on trust, with remission available in defined cases. Buyers purchasing through a company or a trust should take professional advice on the duty before signing.

When Seascape Stamp Duty Is Paid, and Seller’s Duty Later

BSD and any ABSD are paid to IRAS within 14 days of signing the sale and purchase agreement, so they belong at the very start of the budget, next to the booking fee. The guide to buying a completed Seascape home shows where they fall in the timetable.

Seller’s Stamp Duty matters only on an early resale. For homes bought on or after 4 July 2025 it is 16% within the first year of ownership, 12% in the second, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth, and nothing after four years. A buyer planning to hold for longer than that never pays it.

Rates on this page were read from IRAS on 30 October 2026 and can change; the duty for any purchase is confirmed by IRAS at stamping.

General information as at the date shown, not financial, legal or tax advice. Seascape particulars are taken from the developer’s fact sheet, brochure and plans; statutory rules repeat this site’s financing pages and the agencies named. Sources: IRAS (BSD, ABSD and SSD rates) and the Singapore Land Authority (foreign ownership of residential property), both read on 30 October 2026, and this site’s stamp duty page.