What Singaporeans are borrowing for as costs rise, and what it says about everyday life

Prices rose faster, borrowing reached a record and the HDB resale market softened in Q3 2026. Lendela's latest thematic report looks at what people applying through the platform have been borrowing for in 2026, and how that sits against Singapore's cost trends.

Drawing on loan applications received on Lendela between 1 January and 31 August 2026, this report combines Lendela's own data with Singapore's latest price, lending and housing figures. It is part of Lendela's ongoing series of data-driven insights on how economic conditions shape borrowing behaviour in Singapore.

Key findings

Prices rose, and debt, family and bills led the reasons to borrow

• Singapore's annual inflation rate rose from 1.9% in June to 2.2% in July and 2.3% in August. MAS Core Inflation reached 2.2% in August, up from 1.6% in June.

• Other transport services, the group that includes airfares, rose 12.8% year on year in August, and land transport services, which include point-to-point transport, rose 8.3%. Food rose 2.3%.

• The pressure is not new. Over the past ten years, transport prices rose 51%, food 28% and healthcare 24%, while clothing and phone and internet costs were flat or lower. The costs that rose most are the ones people cannot skip. (ten-year cost of living)

• On Lendela, the most common reason to borrow in 2026 so far was debt consolidation, at about 1 in 6 applicants. Repaying family and friends and paying bills each came to about 1 in 8.

Even as prices rose, the top reasons to borrow were about managing commitments already in place: debt, family and bills.

Repaying family and friends is a leading reason to borrow

Repaying loans to family and friends was one of the top reasons to borrow on Lendela, at about 1 in 8 applicants. Informal borrowing between relatives and friends is common in Singapore, and borrowing to settle it is one way people turn it into a plan with clear terms.

Part of the reason is timing. Big family costs often arrive before support does, so households often cover the gap first and sort out repayment later. The examples below, drawn from Lendela's cost guides on a baby's first year and eldercare in Singapore, show how large those costs can be.

Record lending and higher card balances

• Bank lending reached a record $966.4 billion in August 2026, with consumer loans at $384.4 billion. Credit card loans rose to $18.0 billion from $17.6 billion in July.

• Card balances and everyday bills are closely tied to debt consolidation, which brings several balances into one repayment.

With several offers side by side, the most useful comparison is total payable over the full tenure, not just the monthly figure.

Home buyers faced softer prices and a busier market

• The HDB Resale Price Index slipped 0.2% quarter on quarter to 202.4 in Q3 2026, the third straight quarterly decline after falls of 0.1% in Q1 and 0.3% in Q2. (HDB flash estimate)

• Resale transactions rose from 6,268 in Q2 to 7,528 in Q3, the highest of the three quarters of 2026 so far (first-published flash estimates).

• On 27 July, HDB removed the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners and ex-owners buying a non-subsidised resale flat without an HDB loan, so that wait went from 15 months to none.

Softer prices and more activity make this a good moment to run the numbers on monthly repayments before committing.

Interpreting the signal

Borrowing is mostly about managing what is already there

Debt consolidation, family repayments and bills sit at the top of the reasons to borrow. With prices rising, that points to people tidying up existing commitments rather than taking on new spending. It also fits Singapore research: an Institute of Policy Studies paper found 88.8% of young Singaporeans spend within their income, even though 80% worry they spend too much.

Family is often the first place people turn

Repaying family and friends sits among the top reasons to borrow. With large costs such as childbirth and eldercare often landing on households before support does, many first solve short-term gaps informally, then look for a structured way to settle them.

Total cost matters more than the monthly figure

When comparing offers side by side, the most useful figure is the total payable over the full tenure. A lower monthly repayment can still cost more overall.

The Lendela figures in this report are based on loan applications received on Lendela between 1 January and 31 August 2026, with each person counted once.

They refer to the share of applicants, not absolute volumes, and are rounded. Loan purposes are self-declared by applicants and grouped into broader categories for analysis.

Borrower figures describe applicants on Lendela and are not Singapore population statistics. All data is anonymised and aggregated; no individual borrower or financial institution is identifiable.

External figures come from SingStat (inflation, and the ten-year price changes from Jun 2016 to Jun 2026), MAS and MTI, HDB, Trading Economics (MAS lending data) and EdgeProp (HDB transaction data).

Cost examples come from MOH (hospital bill data and eldercare schemes), the Institute of Policy Studies (Working Paper No. 55, 2024, fieldwork 2022) and Lendela's own The Real Price Of series.

The quarterly report is brought to you by Lendela. If it is of interest to you, please get in touch with us at [email protected].