26/06/2024

Buy, Sell & Resell of HDB Flats

Five-room flat at Skyoasis @ Dawson sets new HDB resale record of $1.73 mil
A five-room HDB at Skyoasis @ Dawson (middle) sold for record-breaking $1.73 million

A premium five-room HDB flat at Skyoasis @ Dawson, on Margaret Drive, has set a new HDB resale record when the 1,195 sq ft unit was sold for $1.73 million on 26 Jun 2024. The selling price translates to $1,444 psf. According to a press release issued by ERA Realty on 22 Jul 2024, the record-breaking sale was facilitated by Faith Wong, senior marketing director at ERA Realty. This record-breaking sale trumps the previous record price in the HDB resale market, which was set just last month when a 1,236 sq ft, five-room unit at City Vue @ Henderson changed hands for $1.588 million ($1,285 psf). In April, a five-room flat at Tiong Bahru View, at 9B Boon Tiong Road, was transacted for $1.588 million ($1,317 psf).

According to Wong, the record-breaking unit at Skyoasis @ Dawson is a corner unit on the 45th floor, and the sellers were a local family. She adds that the unit had only been on the market for just under a month before it was sold. Despite its initial asking price of $1.838 million, the property saw competing bids by two sets of motivated buyers before finally closing at a price of $1,725,888, says Wong. She adds that the buyers are a family with young children that appreciated the unit’s attributes such as space, modern amenities nearby and strategic location. “For a private property in this area of this size and age, you would typically expect to pay around $3 million,” says Wong.

Notably, the unit sold was only 3.5 years old with 96 years remaining on its 99-year lease. The property’s status as a replacement flat under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) allowed the owners to sell the unit after seven years from registration, or five years from the date of key collection – whichever is earlier, explains Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA. Typically, new Build-to-Order (BTO) units require a mandatory occupancy period of five years from key collection before owners are permitted by the HDB to sell their flats on the secondary market. Completed in 2021, Skyoasis @ Dawson is a 1,192-unit HDB estate in District 3. It comprises of six residential blocks ranging from 26- to 45-storeys in height and houses two- to five-room flats. The project is within walking distance of Queenstown MRT on the East-West line and adjacent to Queenstown Primary School on Margaret Drive.


Resale flat prices up 2.1% in 2Q2024: HDB flash estimates
A total of 7,208 resale flat transactions were recorded by HDB in 2Q2024, which is 2% higher q-o-q compared to the 7,068 transactions logged in 1Q2024

HDB resale flat prices continued growing for the 17th consecutive quarter in 2Q2024. Flash estimates released by HDB on July 1 show that resale prices rose by 2.1% q-o-q in 2Q2024, accelerating from the 1.8% q-o-q increase charted in 1Q2024. This is also the fastest quarterly growth since 4Q2022, which saw a 2.3% q-o-q increase.

The faster growth in resale flat prices comes off the back of a surge in demand for resale flats in 2Q2024. This follows a reduction in the frequency of Build-to-Order (BTO) sales launches from four to three times a year and the Sales of Balance Flat (SBF) exercise limited to once a year, notes Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Orange Tee & Tie. Additionally, the increased housing grants for eligible homebuyers have made resale flats more accessible and affordable to homebuyers, especially young couples, Sun adds. She also observes a growing number of private property homeowners returning to the resale market after completing the mandatory 15-month wait-out period for those who want to downgrade to a resale flat.

Year-to-date, resale flat prices have grown by 4%. This surpasses the 2.5% growth recorded in 1H2023 but is slower than the 5.3% growth logged in 1H2022. A total of 7,208 resale flat transactions were recorded by HDB in 2Q2024. This is 2% higher q-o-q compared to the 7,068 transactions logged in 1Q2024. The highest transacted million-dollar deal in 2Q2024 was a five-room flat at 96A Henderson Road in City Vue @ Henderson, and a five-room flat at 9B Boon Tiong Road at Tiong Bahru View. Both are newer flats and were each transacted at $1.588 million.

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Official Launch of Resale Flat Listing Service on HDB Flat Portal

Since the soft launch of the Resale Flat Listing (RFL) service on 13 May 2024, over 600 resale flats1 have been listed for sale on the HDB Flat Portal. The RFL service on the HDB Flat Portal has been officially launched today, on 30 May 2024. Prospective HDB flat buyers and their appointed property agents can now browse the resale flat listings and carry out transactions directly with the flat sellers or the sellers’ appointed property agents. Flat sellers can continue to list and market their flats on their own or appoint a property agent to manage their flat listing on their behalf. Property agents can use the personalised dashboard to manage their clients' activities, and this helps them focus on providing value-added services for their clients, such as budgeting and guidance on next steps.  

The RFL service has an automatic built-in feature where sellers will be prompted if their listing price exceeds the highest transacted price of nearby units of the same flat type in the past 6 months by 10% or more. Sellers can therefore make a more informed decision on the listed price for their unit, which also makes for a more sustainable property market in the long run. HDB reserves the right to remove listings which have unrealistic pricing or contain misleading information from our portal.

The RFL service aims to create a transparent, reliable and trusted marketplace for HDB resale flats for sellers, buyers and property agents. Flat sellers must have a valid Intent to Sell before they can list their flat, and each seller can only post one flat listing to ensure that there is no duplicative listing for the same flat.  Prospective flat buyers must have a valid HDB Flat Eligibility letter before they can obtain the sellers’ contact details and/or schedule viewing appointments through the HDB Flat Portal. Together with the authenticated access to the HDB Flat Portal via Singpass for all users, the RFL service also seeks to create a more secure and conducive marketplace for sellers and buyers of HDB flats to transact, with or without the facilitation of property agents. Prospective buyers are advised to plan their budget carefully, considering their income, renovation needs and mortgage financing ability, and exercise financial prudence in their flat purchase to avoid overstretching themselves.

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Streamlining and Simplifying the Flat Buying Process

To offer greater convenience for flat buyers and sellers, HDB has been continually leveraging technology to streamline and simplify the processes related to the buying and selling of HDB flats.

On 13 May 2024, HDB launched a new Resale Flat Listing service to make the buying and selling of HDB flats more convenient and seamless. HDB flat owners and their appointed property agents can list flats for sale and seamlessly complete their resale transactions on the HDB Flat Portal. Flat buyers will also benefit from comparing their housing options – comprising both new and resale flats – on a single platform holistically, to help them make a more informed decision on their home purchase.

The RFL service is part of HDB’s digitalisation efforts to support the transformation of the real estate industry, aiming to provide consumers easy access to a wide range of secure property transactions and improved services by property agents. Under the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map1, one of the key strategies is the harnessing of technology to deliver seamless and efficient property transaction services.


How to sell your HDB Flat - Step by Step

Maybe you’ve been living in that BTO flat for a while now & “coincidentally” you have been hearing that HDB flats are fetching over a million dollars today. You’re doing well financially, and you’re wondering if it’s the right time to sell your resale HDB and upgrade to a private property.

Maybe you’ve outgrown your home and need more space for your family.

Whatever your reason to sell your HDB flat up on the resale market, you want to make sure you’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s.


If you are looking to sell your HDB flat in 2022, we’ll guide you through all the requirements you need to tick off, from the very start of the HDB resale process to the official completion of the sale.

The HDB resale Process, Step by Step:


HDB Resale Application - All you need to know to resell your HDB

You’ve finally found a buyer for your HDB resale flat. Great! But now you’re wondering just how to proceed from here. Once the Option to Purchase (OTP) between you and the buyer is signed, you’ve awarded them the exclusive right to purchase your property from you.

But that’s not the end of the paperwork – it’s where your HDB resale application starts. If you’re confused about what documents to fill out, how much in fees to pay, and how long all of that might take, then you’ve come to the right address.

Below we’ll outline in detail what you need to know about your HDB resale application:
  • What is the HDB Resale Application?
  •  What documents are needed for the HDB Resale Application?
  • What are the Resale Application fees?
  • What do I need to do after submitting my HDB Resale Application?
  • Can I cancel my HDB Resale Application?
  • When is the HDB resale procedure complete?


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