Planning to buy HDB resale flat in 2025? With the CPF Housing Grant now offering up to $80,000 for eligible first-timers, more buyers are choosing resale for its flexibility, wider location options, and quicker move-in timeline.
This guide walks you through every step of the resale process, from eligibility checks to getting your keys, so you can buy your next home with clarity and confidence.
If you’re planning to sell your current home before buying, start by getting an instant estimate of your home’s value with Ohmyhome’s free e-Valuation tool. It’ll help you budget smartly and plan your next move.
Here are the 14 steps to buying a resale HDB flat in 2025
- 1. Check your eligibility
- 2. Calculate your affordability
- 3. Apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility(HFE) letter
- 4. Start your home search
- 5. Decide on a financing option
- 6. Make an offer
- 7. Discuss Temporary Extension of Stay with the seller
- 8. Request for flat valuation
- 9. Exercise the Option
- 10. Complete the Resale Application
- 11. Accept the Terms and Conditions
- 12. Make payment for resale fees and calculate stamp duty
- 13. Receive approval notification
- 14. Resale Completion Appointment
- Congratulations on your new home!
- Looking to buy a resale HDB flat? Let us speed up your home search!
1. Check your eligibility
Hopeful buyers must meet ALL of the following criteria to be eligible for resale HDB flat purchase:
| Age | Unmarried or divorced individuals: At least 35 years old Widowed or orphaned individuals: At least 21 years old |
| Citizenship | Only Singapore citizens or permanent residents are eligible. |
| Family Nucleus | Meet family nucleus requirements in accordance with the various eligibility schemes. This could mean registering with any of the following: – Spouse and children – Parents and siblings – Children under legal custody (for widowed and divorced parents) |
| Property Ownership | All individuals are required to relinquish ownership of any other HDB flat, private or overseas property within six months of the final transaction. |
In addition, you must also take the Ethnic Integration Policy and Singapore Permanent Resident quota (EIP and SPR quota) into account when selecting a flat for purchase.
While there are no income ceilings for HDB resale flat purchase, your annual income will determine whether or not you qualify for the HDB Housing Loan and CPF Housing Grants.
In most cases, an annual income exceeding $14,000 will put you out of range for most subsidies.
2. Calculate your affordability
Use the HomerAI Affordability Calculator, Ohmyhome’s smart property management and valuation tool, to estimate your maximum loan amount, monthly repayments, and loan tenure based on your income and financial profile.
It’s the easiest way to set a realistic budget before you start viewing flats, so you can focus only on homes within your means.
3. Apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility(HFE) letter
With a single application, you will be able to know your eligibility to:
- Purchase a BTO or resale HDB flat
- Receive CPF housing grants and the grant amount
- Take up a HDB housing loan, and the loan amount
With the new HFE letter, you no longer have to submit a thousand and one documents for eligibility assessment. Instead, your personal information will be retrieved from Myinfo via Singass, with your permission, streamlining the process for you.
4. Start your home search
Let Ohmyhome’s smart MATCH algorithm do the searching for you. Simply fill out the Buyer’s Preference Form, and you’ll receive personalised resale flat listings that match your criteria, like location, flat type, and budget, sent straight to your WhatsApp. It’s a faster, smarter way to find your next home without the endless scrolling.
Pro Tip: Before making an offer, use HomerAI to check recent transaction prices in the area and make sure you’re paying the right price.
5. Decide on a financing option
Buying an HDB resale flat is a significant financial commitment. The property itself can cost anywhere between $350,000 for 3-room flats to $700,000 for upper-end 5-room flats. This can be spread out with mortgage payments, but you’ll be required to put down a down payment of at least 10%.
| Payment Type | HDB Loan | Bank Loan |
| Downpayment | 25% of the purchase price, of which at least 5% must be paid in cash | Pegged at 0.1% above the OA interest rate |
| Interest rates | Pegged at 0.1% above OA interest rate | Generally lower but may fluctuate with market conditions |
| Lock-in period | No | Yes |
Some things to note if you’re considering taking an HDB or bank loan:
For HDB loan: You must get a valid HLE letter before making an offer.
For bank loan: You must have a bank’s LO before exercising the OTP. Do note that there may be limits on your use of CPF funds and HDB loans.
Also, note that you must use cash for the following payments:
- Deposit to seller (a maximum of $5,000, paid in 2 stages: Option Fee and Exercise Fee)
- Amount not covered by CPF savings and housing loan
- Cash proceeds from disposing of the last flat (if you’re taking a second HDB loan)
You can use the savings in your CPF Ordinary Account (OA) for the following:
- Initial payment in whole or in part, depending on whether you got an HDB or bank loan
- Partial or full payment for the flat purchase
- Monthly mortgage installments (up to the valuation limit / Additional Housing Withdrawal Limit)
Additional costs:
- Resale application administrative fee ($40-$80)
- Valuation fee ($120)
- Insurance
- Legal fees (starts from $1,800 nett with Ohmyhome)
Selling your current flat to fund your next one?
Let our Ohmyhome Super Agents take care of everything, from pricing and marketing to negotiations and handover, so you can sell smoothly and buy with confidence.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help.
Schedule a consultation with one of Singapore’s top agents.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help.
Schedule a consultation with one of Singapore’s top agents.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help.
Schedule a consultation with one of Singapore’s top agents.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help.
Schedule a consultation with one of Singapore’s top agents.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help.
Schedule a consultation with one of Singapore’s top agents.
6. Make an offer
Once you’ve chosen your ideal home, you may make an offer on the flat. An agreed-upon Option fee ($1-$1,000) must be paid to the seller, who, upon accepting your offer, will grant the HDB-prescribed OTP. By doing so, the seller essentially promises not to offer their home to anyone else but you.
You will have 21 days to exercise the OTP, up to 4 pm on the 21st day of receiving your OTP. But before you can exercise it, you must have a valid HLE letter or an LO, should you require financing for the flat purchase.
7. Discuss Temporary Extension of Stay with the seller
If the sellers are unable to move out of their flat by the completion date, they may request to temporarily extend their stay in the flat for up to 3 months. You can negotiate the fees for the Temporary Extension of Stay with the sellers. Other fees include:
- Property tax, charged to you at non-concessionary rates (higher than the concessionary rate)
- Admin fee of $20
The Temporary Extension of Stay, which will be terminated automatically on the 3rd month, must be submitted with the resale application. You must accompany the sellers in doing so at an HDB branch.
The computation of the Minimum Occupation Period for you, the new owner of the flat, will commence after the Temporary Extension of Stay is terminated.
8. Request for flat valuation
If you’re using your CPF monies and/or a housing loan to finance your flat purchase, you must submit a ‘Request for Value’ to HDB to determine the amount of loan and CPF you may use. This must be done by the next working day after you’ve received the OTP from the seller.
Information required for ‘Request for Value’:
- Page 1 of the OTP softcopy
- Property address
- OTP serial number, Option grant date, purchase price, and Option fee
- Seller’s name, NRIC no,. and contact details
- All buyers’ names and NRIC no.
- Contact details of 1 buyer
- Requestor’s contact details
Stay updated on the status of your Request by logging in to the HDB Resale Portal. The value of the flat will be available on the Portal within 5-7 working days; an email will be sent to notify you.
9. Exercise the Option
You must do the following on or before the Option expiry:
- Sign the ‘Acceptance’ in the Option
- Deliver the signed document (original copy) to the seller
- Pay the seller an exercise fee (capped at $5,000, minus the Option fee)
To cancel the purchase, you must inform the seller and allow the OTP to lapse and expire. Remember that the Option fee is non-refundable should you not proceed with the purchase.
10. Complete the Resale Application
You may complete the resale application on the HDB resale portal, and you and the seller must submit the application, with the supporting documents, within 7 days of each other.
Do note that there’s an administrative fee of $40 for 1- and 2-room flats, or $80 for 3-room and bigger flats.
The fees are non-refundable and are inclusive of GST; payable by credit card (Visa or Mastercard).
You will be required to provide the following information when filling up the application form:
- Resale flat address
- OTP details (such as OTP serial no., Option fee, purchase price, Option grant/Exercise date)
- Soft copy of personal documents of all buyers and/or occupiers
- Soft copy of proof of income (if applying for CPF housing grant)
Also, take note that you will need to do the following:
- Complete the ‘Intent to Buy’ on the HDB Resale Portal
- Have a valid Intent and HLE letter or LO before the OTP can be granted or exercised
11. Accept the Terms and Conditions
You will receive an SMS from HDB within 10 working days informing you when you can accept the terms and conditions for all the documents prepared for you through the HDB resale portal.
This must be done within 6 days of receiving the SMS.
Once endorsed, you will receive an in-principle approval for resale.
12. Make payment for resale fees and calculate stamp duty
Apart from paying for resale fees such as the title search fee, there are also other miscellaneous fees you’ll have to pay, including stamp duty fees and legal fees.
- Calculate your stamp duty
You can calculate your stamp duty fees on the Ohmyhome app. To do so, tap ‘Services’ and ‘Loan Calculator’, and select ‘Buyer Stamp Duty’.
13. Receive approval notification
You’ll receive an SMS or email to notify you when HDB’s approval letter has been posted on the resale portal.
- Final inspection of the flat
You’ll need to arrange a final inspection with the seller to check that the flat is vacant before the Resale Completion Appointment.
14. Resale Completion Appointment
Your HDB appointment is 8-10 weeks from the date of HDB’s acceptance of the resale application if the necessary documents are submitted accurately and on time.
The appointment is for HDB to witness:
- Signing of the transfer document for the resale flat
- Signing of the mortgage document/ agreement (applicable for HDB loans only)
- Handover of keys (if you opted for a bank loan, the bank’s lawyer can be authorised to collect the keys on your behalf)
Do note that you will have to reimburse the property tax to the seller for the portion of the year for which you own the property.
Service & Conservancy Charges are to be paid up to the date of completion by the seller (i.e., Completion Appointment date).
And you’re all set!
Congratulations on your new home!
You’ve reached the end of the road and found your dream home! May it be a place of safety, comfort, and rest for you and your loved ones.
It’s a blessing to have a place you can call your own, so we hope you get to make as many happy memories with your loved ones in your new home.
Looking to buy a resale HDB flat? Let us speed up your home search!
Submit your preferences with us, and we’ll take care of the rest, sending you personalised listings and useful insights straight to your WhatsApp.
Ready to take the next step? Chat with us below or message us on WhatsApp. Your ideal home is just a tap away.
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