Insight Hub

Market guides, explained plainly

Practical reading on buying, selling and financing property in Singapore — no jargon, no fluff.

HDB Resale

Before you fall for an older flat, do this one sum

Take 95 minus the youngest buyer's age: that's how many years the lease needs to have left for the usual CPF and HDB loan limits to apply. Fall short and both get pro-rated, with the HDB loan scaling down from its usual 75% cap and CPF capped at a share of the price (CPF's own example: 60 years left, youngest buyer 25, CPF covers up to 80%). At 20 years or less, most buyers can't use CPF on the flat at all, and it's the flats with 50 to 65 years left where people get caught.

Ask Alvin about this
Private Residences

Keep the HDB and buy a condo? Run the ABSD first

Once your flat is past MOP (5 years, 10 for Plus and Prime), citizens can keep it and buy private, but the HDB counts as your first home, so the condo attracts 20% ABSD: $300,000 on a $1.5M condo, on top of the usual buyer's stamp duty. The route most couples take is to buy in both names, pay the ABSD upfront and sell the flat within 6 months to get it refunded. Buying a new launch, the 6 months start at TOP, and there are no extensions.

Ask Alvin about this
HDB Resale

Was September up or down for HDB resale? Depends on your flat

SRX's September data has overall resale prices up 0.6% on August but 0.4% below a year ago. Mature estates rose 1.4% in the month against 0.1% for non-mature ones, and over the year mature estates are up 0.6% while non-mature are down 1.2%. 5-room was the only flat type that went up (1.7%), and 2,248 flats changed hands, about 11% fewer than August.

Ask Alvin about this
Seller Marketing

Your selling price isn't what lands in your bank account

When you sell, the loan is cleared first, then every dollar of CPF you put into the flat goes back to your OA with the accrued interest, and only what's left comes to you as cash. It's not a fee: if you're under 55 you can use it for the next home, and as long as you sold at market value there's no cash top-up if the sale doesn't cover it. Your CPF dashboard's home ownership section shows what you'd refund today, so check it before you set a price.

Ask Alvin about this
WhatsApp Get Alerts