Most buyers need cash equity of roughly 10% to 30% of a property’s price before a bank, Pag-IBIG, or a developer will release financing for the rest — but the number that actually applies to you depends on which lender you use, whether the unit is pre-selling or ready for occupancy, and whether the lender’s own appraisal matches the price you agreed to pay. Pag-IBIG’s published loan-to-value ratios run as high as 90% of appraised value for smaller loans (HDMF Circular No. 353, Supreme Court E-Library, cited below), while banks commonly lend 70%–90% depending on the institution, and developers selling pre-selling units typically ask for 10%–30% spread interest-free over the construction period. None of these percentages apply to the selling price automatically — they apply to whichever is lower between the price and the lender’s appraised value, which is the detail that most often turns an advertised “20% down” deal into a bigger cash requirement than buyers expect.
Decision Snapshot
- What it is: The cash equity you pay upfront — on top of a reservation fee — before a bank, Pag-IBIG, or a developer’s in-house financing covers the rest of a property’s price.
- Where it varies: Bank loans commonly run 70%–90% loan-to-value (10%–30% down); Pag-IBIG’s published ratio is 90% up to ₱1.25 million and 85% up to ₱6 million (HDMF Circular No. 353); developer in-house terms for pre-selling units typically ask 10%–30%, often discounted to 5%–15% under a current promo.
- The key qualifying detail: Every one of these percentages is computed against the lower of the selling price or the lender’s own appraised value — not automatically the price you agreed to pay the seller.
- The main factor: Pre-selling purchases let you spread the down payment interest-free over the construction period (commonly 12–48 months); resale and ready-for-occupancy (RFO) purchases usually need most or all of it in a shorter window, often before loan proceeds are released.
- An important caveat: Pag-IBIG raised its housing loan ceiling to ₱10 million in 2026, but its publicly available loan-to-value circular only confirms ratios up to a ₱6 million loan — get a written computation from Pag-IBIG if you’re borrowing above that.
- Next step: Before paying anything beyond a reservation fee, get a written loan-to-value quote and, ideally, a preliminary appraisal from your intended lender — not just the developer’s or seller’s advertised equity percentage.
Down Payment, Reservation Fee, and Equity: Getting the Terms Straight
“Down payment” gets used loosely in Philippine real estate marketing, and it’s worth separating from two payments it’s often confused with. A reservation fee (commonly ₱10,000–₱50,000 for a mid-market condominium) holds a specific unit off the market while you finalize financing and paperwork — it is not the down payment itself, though most developers agree in writing to credit it toward one. Down payment (sometimes called “equity”) is the buyer’s own cash contribution toward the total contract price, paid before or alongside loan proceeds. Our separate guide on Reservation Fee vs Earnest Money vs Down Payment covers how Philippine law treats each one differently if a deal falls through, including the Maceda Law’s refund rules once installment payments have started. This guide instead focuses on a narrower, very practical question: how much of that equity you actually need to have on hand, and when.
Down Payment by Financing Route: Bank, Pag-IBIG, or Developer In-House
The single biggest factor in how much cash you need upfront is which financing route you use — because each one applies a different loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling, and some let you spread the equity over time while others want most of it immediately.
| Financing route | Typical loan-to-value | Resulting down payment | When it’s due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank housing loan | 70%–90% of appraised value (varies by bank) | 10%–30% | Usually before or at loan release; see our Bank Housing Loan guide for bank-by-bank figures |
| Pag-IBIG housing loan | 90% up to ₱1.25M; 85% up to ₱6M (HDMF Circular No. 353) | 10%–15% within those brackets | Typically before the Letter of Guaranty is issued |
| Developer in-house / pre-selling | Not loan-to-value based — a developer-set equity schedule | 10%–30% of total contract price (often 5%–15% under a current promo) | Spread interest-free across the pre-selling construction period, commonly 12–48 months |
These are starting points, not guarantees. A bank’s actual loan-to-value offer depends on the specific borrower, property type, and location, and a developer’s equity schedule is set project by project and changes with active promotions — treat every figure here as a reason to ask for a written quote, not a number to budget against sight unseen.
How Pag-IBIG’s Loan-to-Value Ratio Actually Works
Pag-IBIG (the Home Development Mutual Fund) publishes its loan-to-value limits by circular rather than leaving them to case-by-case negotiation. The most recent publicly available schedule, HDMF Circular No. 353 (effective for applications from April 1, 2015), sets the loan-to-appraised-value ratio as follows:
| Loan amount | Maximum loan-to-value ratio | Minimum equity required |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₱1,250,000 | 90% | 10% |
| Over ₱1,250,000 up to ₱6,000,000 | 85% | 15% |
The circular also allows Pag-IBIG to adjust the ratio downward “depending on the result of the Borrower’s Evaluation System” — meaning a weaker credit or income profile can reduce your maximum loan-to-value below the published ceiling, raising your required equity above the 10%–15% baseline (HDMF Circular No. 353, Supreme Court E-Library). Separately, Pag-IBIG caps a borrower’s combined outstanding housing loan balances at ₱6 million in aggregate under this same circular, and treats all of a borrower’s housing accounts as being in default if any single one defaults — a detail worth knowing if you’re considering a second Pag-IBIG-financed property.
The gap to watch: Pag-IBIG raised its overall housing loan ceiling to ₱10 million in 2026 (Inquirer Business, Pag-IBIG’s ₱10M loan ceiling), but Circular No. 353’s published loan-to-value table only confirms ratios up to a ₱6 million loan. Business press coverage of the higher ceiling has used illustrative examples around 80% loan-to-value (a 20% down payment) for loans in the new, higher bracket, but that is a reporter’s example, not a confirmed Pag-IBIG rule. If your loan falls between ₱6 million and the ₱10 million ceiling, ask Pag-IBIG directly for the loan-to-value ratio that applies to your bracket rather than assuming either the 85% figure or a simple 80% estimate carries over.
How Bank Loan-to-Value Compares
Banks don’t share a single published loan-to-value rule the way Pag-IBIG does — each bank sets its own ratio, and it commonly varies further by property type (condo vs house-and-lot vs lot-only), whether the unit is new or resale, and the bank’s own risk appetite for the specific developer or location. Across major Philippine banks, published and commonly cited loan-to-value ceilings for a Regular Housing Loan typically fall in the 70%–90% range, which in practice means a 10%–30% cash down payment against the appraised value — see our Bank Housing Loan guide for a bank-by-bank comparison table and current published rates. Because this figure is a matter of each bank’s credit policy rather than a single legal rule, the only reliable way to know your actual number is a written pre-approval or term sheet from the specific bank you intend to use.
Developer In-House and Pre-Selling Equity: How the Schedule Actually Works
Buying a pre-selling condo unit changes the down payment question entirely, because the developer — not a bank or Pag-IBIG — sets the equity schedule, and that schedule is usually designed to be paid in small monthly amounts across the construction period rather than as one lump sum. Two listed project payment pages illustrate how this commonly looks in practice (figures vary by developer, project, and active promotion, so treat these as examples rather than a universal rule):
- One national developer’s published 2026 price list sets a ₱30,000 reservation fee (credited toward the down payment), a regular 30% down payment term that earns a 4% price discount, and current promotional terms that lower the required down payment to 15%–20% — spread interest-free over a number of months that depends on how early the unit was reserved relative to turnover.
- A listed SMDC-branded project’s 2026 price sheet offers a 15% down payment spread over 47–48 months interest-free, or a hybrid option combining a 5% spot payment with a further 15% spread over roughly the same period, alongside a full 100% spot-cash option.
In both cases, the balance after the down payment period — commonly 70%–85% of the price — is expected to be covered by bank financing, Pag-IBIG financing, or the developer’s own in-house financing (usually priced higher than a bank or Pag-IBIG loan) at or near turnover, when the unit is completed and ready for titling. This is the practical advantage of pre-selling: your equity is spread across years rather than paid all at once, which is why pre-selling units are frequently marketed as requiring “little to no down payment” even though the total equity percentage isn’t necessarily lower than a resale purchase — it’s just stretched over a much longer window.
Pre-Selling vs Ready-for-Occupancy (RFO): Why the Timing Differs
The down payment percentage on paper can look similar between a pre-selling and an RFO purchase, but the cash-flow reality is very different — see our fuller comparison in RFO vs Pre-Selling Property for how the two differ beyond financing.
| Factor | Pre-selling | RFO / resale |
|---|---|---|
| When the down payment is due | Spread over the construction period, commonly 12–48 months, interest-free | Usually within weeks to a few months of the signed contract, often before loan release |
| Who sets the schedule | The developer, project by project | Negotiated with the seller, or the bank’s/Pag-IBIG’s own processing timeline for a resale unit |
| Appraisal risk | Lower at purchase (unit doesn’t exist yet to appraise against a resale comparable), but still applies at turnover when the loan is actually released | Higher and immediate — the lender appraises the specific unit against current comparable sales before approving the loan |
| What happens if you can’t cover a shortfall | More time to save, since turnover is years away | Little room to make up a gap before closing deadlines |
The Appraisal Trap: Why Your Actual Cash Need Can Exceed the Advertised Percentage
Every loan-to-value percentage described above is applied to whichever is lower — the agreed selling price, or the lender’s own independent appraisal of the property. This single mechanic is the most common reason a buyer’s actual required cash ends up higher than the advertised “10% down” or “20% down” figure. If a bank or Pag-IBIG appraiser values a unit below the price you agreed to pay the seller, your maximum loan shrinks to a percentage of that lower appraised figure — and you have to cover the entire difference between the price and the reduced loan amount in cash, on top of your planned down payment. This is one of the ten most common reasons housing loan applications come in short of what buyers expect; see our guide on why housing loan applications get rejected for the fuller mechanics of an appraisal shortfall.
In practice, this risk is highest for resale properties and older units with few recent comparable sales nearby, and lowest for a brand-new, high-volume pre-selling project where the developer’s price and the eventual appraisal tend to track closely. Ask your lender, before you commit to a reservation fee, what recent comparable sales exist for the specific unit or building — not just the general neighborhood.
What’s Changing: A Higher Pag-IBIG Ceiling, an Unconfirmed Gap Above It
Pag-IBIG’s move to a ₱10 million housing loan ceiling in 2026 opened its financing to a much wider range of condo and house purchases that previously would have needed a bank top-up loan to cover the full price (Inquirer Business). What hasn’t been clearly, publicly updated alongside that ceiling increase is the loan-to-value table itself: HDMF Circular No. 353 still only documents ratios up to a ₱6 million loan amount. Buyers borrowing in the ₱6 million–₱10 million range should treat the loan-to-value ratio that applies to them as an open question to ask Pag-IBIG directly, not something they can infer from either the 85% figure in the circular or an 80% figure sometimes used as a rough illustration in press coverage of the new ceiling.
Worked Example: Comparing Three Routes for the Same Unit
The figures below are a hypothetical illustration only — not a real transaction, not a quote from any specific bank, developer, or Pag-IBIG branch, and not financial advice. Assume a pre-selling condo unit priced at ₱3,500,000, and that the appraised value matches the price at turnover.
- Developer in-house, promo terms: ₱30,000 reservation fee, credited toward a 15% down payment (₱525,000) spread interest-free over 36 months — roughly ₱14,580 a month — with the remaining 85% (₱2,975,000) taken out as a bank or Pag-IBIG loan at turnover.
- Bank financing at turnover, 80% loan-to-value: If the bank’s loan-to-value ceiling for this borrower and property type is 80%, it will lend ₱2,800,000 against the ₱3,500,000 appraised value — leaving a ₱175,000 gap beyond the ₱525,000 already paid as equity, which the buyer must cover separately before the loan is released.
- Pag-IBIG financing at turnover, within the ₱6M bracket: At the published 85% loan-to-value ratio, Pag-IBIG would lend up to ₱2,975,000 against the same ₱3,500,000 value — covering the full remaining balance after the ₱525,000 equity, assuming the borrower’s capacity-to-pay also supports that amount.
The lesson in this example: the same unit, the same nominal “15% down,” can leave a buyer fully covered through one lender and short by ₱175,000 through another, purely because of each lender’s own loan-to-value ceiling — before even considering an appraisal that comes in below price.
What to Verify Before You Rely on This
- Get a written loan-to-value quote from your specific bank or from Pag-IBIG, rather than assuming a general published range applies to your exact loan amount and bracket.
- Ask what the appraisal is likely to come in at, especially for a resale or older unit, before you sign a reservation agreement around a specific price.
- Confirm whether your Pag-IBIG loan falls above the ₱6 million bracket documented in HDMF Circular No. 353, and if so, get the applicable ratio in writing rather than estimating it.
- Get the developer’s equity schedule and any promo terms in writing, including what happens to the schedule if the promo ends before you’ve finished paying your down payment.
- Clarify in writing how your reservation fee will be credited toward the down payment, and what happens to it if you don’t proceed.
- Budget separately for closing costs on top of the down payment — transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, registration fees, and other charges are not part of the equity percentage; see our guides on hidden charges when buying a condo and who pays which closing costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the reservation fee part of the down payment?
Usually yes, in practice — most developers agree in writing to credit the reservation fee toward the total down payment once the buyer proceeds. It’s not guaranteed by law, though, so confirm this specific point in your reservation agreement before paying.
Can I buy property in the Philippines with little or no down payment?
Not with zero equity under normal bank or Pag-IBIG financing, since both apply a loan-to-value ceiling below 100% for the loan amounts most buyers borrow. What looks like “little to no down payment” marketing usually refers to a pre-selling developer spreading a normal 10%–20% equity requirement over many months, not eliminating it.
Is the down payment based on the selling price or the appraised value?
Whichever is lower. If the lender’s appraisal comes in below the agreed price, your loan amount shrinks accordingly, and the resulting gap between the price and the reduced loan is an additional cash cost on top of your planned down payment.
Does Pag-IBIG require a bigger down payment than a bank?
Not necessarily — Pag-IBIG’s published loan-to-value ratios (90% and 85%, depending on the loan bracket) are often more generous than many individual banks’ ceilings, which commonly run lower within the 70%–90% range. The better comparison is loan amount and documentation requirements, not just the down payment percentage; see our Pag-IBIG vs Bank Housing Loan comparison.
What happens if I can’t complete the down payment on a pre-selling unit?
This depends on how far along you are and what the Contract to Sell and Maceda Law entitle you to at that point — a buyer who hasn’t yet reached two years’ worth of installment payments generally has only a 60-day grace period, not a refund right. See our guide on reservation fee vs earnest money vs down payment for the full refund schedule.
Can I use a Pag-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan to cover my down payment?
No — the Multi-Purpose Loan is a separate, smaller loan against a member’s own accumulated Pag-IBIG savings, and it is not structured or intended to fund a housing down payment or closing costs in place of the housing loan program itself.
Do all developers offer the same down payment terms?
No. Each developer sets its own equity percentage, spread period, and active promotions project by project, and terms can change between phases of the same development. Always confirm the current, written terms for the specific unit and reservation date you’re being offered, not a figure quoted for a different project or an earlier promo period.
What to Do Next
Before you pay anything beyond a small reservation fee, get three things in writing: your intended lender’s loan-to-value ceiling for your specific loan amount and bracket, a realistic sense of what the property is likely to appraise for (not just its listed price), and the developer’s or seller’s exact equity schedule including how the reservation fee is credited. Compare at least Pag-IBIG and one bank if you qualify for both, since their loan-to-value ratios and documentation requirements can tip the real cash you need in either direction. Treat every percentage in this guide as a starting point for that conversation, not a number to lock your budget around before you’ve confirmed it with the actual lender.
Figures and ratios in this article are current as of October 1, 2026, and are drawn from HDMF Circular No. 353 (2015) for Pag-IBIG’s published loan-to-value ratios, business-press reporting on Pag-IBIG’s 2026 ₱10 million loan ceiling, and publicly listed developer price sheets for illustrative pre-selling payment terms. Bank loan-to-value ratios, developer equity schedules, and promotional terms vary by institution and project and change over time. Always confirm current figures directly with your bank, Pag-IBIG, or the specific developer or seller before relying on this guide for an actual purchase.
