Guides
How to sell your HDB, written from 665 transactions
Plain answers to what an HDB seller pays, how long it takes and which order to do things in. One author, every guide dated, every claim from a transaction I handled.
Figures from my own transaction record. See the 96 most recent sales.
Start here
How to sell an HDB flat in 2026, step by step
Intent to Sell, pricing, Option to Purchase, resale application, completion — and what actually goes wrong at each step across 77 HDB sales.
Follow the path
Decide, then count the cost, then sell
Ordered the way a sale happens. Each card gives the short answer before you click.
Decide
Sell first or buy first?
Sell first, for most people: no ABSD, and a full 75% loan on the next home. Buy first only if you can pay 20% ABSD upfront and wait for the refund, or if you’re going HDB to HDB and can use contra.
How long does an HDB take to sell?
Median 55 days to the option across my 77 HDB sales, then about 3½ months to completion. Charted by flat type and town from real dates.
Count the cost
HDB agent commission in 2026: what you actually pay
No official rate exists. 2% plus 9% GST is $13,080 on a $600,000 flat. What it buys, and what to negotiate before you sign.
Fixed fee vs 2%: does a fixed-fee agent try less hard?
A 2% agent earns $200 more per extra $10,000 you get. What the fee really changes, with time-to-sell data from 77 HDB sales.
Homeowner notes
Owning: what to know before it affects a sale
Occasional notes on rules and news that change what your home is worth or how easily it sells. Not part of the selling path, but worth ten minutes if one applies to you.
Unauthorised renovation and your home sale
URA now gets about 150 reports a year and prosecutes owners who ignore notices. Lofts over 5 sq m, glassed-in balconies, covered roof terraces: what counts, what HDB makes you fix before completion, and what it does to your price.
Two brothers, one inherited house, four years in court
A High Court judgment from October 2026: two sons left a $5m house with no rule on who lives in it, when to sell or what the two excluded brothers get. The five gaps in the will, and what I would do as the agent.
Do the maths
Watch instead
Short answers to the questions that come up most, filmed by me.
Who writes these
Licensed salesperson, CEA R051864Z. Creator of the C.H.O.I.C.E. framework and author of Buy & Sell Properties Start With C.H.O.I.C.E. Every guide draws on transactions I handled myself, not a content team.
Still have a question the guides didn't answer?
Send it on WhatsApp. I reply myself, usually the same day. No obligation, no follow-up calls.
Guides are updated when the rules change; the date shown on each is the last revision.