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HDB to condo calculator: can you afford to upgrade?
Whether you can upgrade from an HDB flat to a condo comes down to three numbers: the cash and CPF your flat releases, the loan a bank will give you on your income and age, and the stamp duty on the next home. Most owners know the first roughly and the other two not at all.
The calculator below works out all three and gives you one figure, the most you can pay, plus what it costs each month. It also shows what changes if you buy before you sell. Nothing to sign up for, and no one calls you.
- Free, no sign-up
- TDSR, MSR, BSD and ABSD built in
- Condo and new EC
Do not know what your flat will leave you with? Work that out first with the HDB sale proceeds calculator, then press “What can I buy next” there and your figures carry over.
Step 2 · HDB to condo calculator
What condo can you afford after selling your HDB?
Your sale proceeds carry forward. Add your income and the calculator applies the bank's loan limits, stamp duty and ABSD, and tells you the highest price you can afford.
From selling your flat carried over from step 1
What you already have
Who is buying
Gross fixed income before CPF. Buying alone? Leave buyer 2's income at 0.
Buying first, the sale money above has not arrived yet, so only what you already have is counted. A bank bridging loan can cover part of the gap, but only once a buyer has exercised the option on your flat.
The most you can pay
Included in that total
Buy first or sell first: the two timelines
Typical timings for an HDB owner moving to a resale condo. Yours will differ; the deadlines will not.
- 1Market the flat. 63% of my HDB sales found a buyer within three months.
- 2Option exercised, HDB resale application, completion about 8 weeks after HDB accepts. Cash and CPF refund arrive here.
- 3Shop once your option is exercised, because now you know your number. A resale condo takes 8 to 12 weeks from option to keys.
- 4Temporary extension of stay: your buyer can let you stay up to 3 months after completion. Agree it at the option stage.
- 1Exercise the condo option. 20% ABSD and BSD are due within 14 days, in cash.
- 2The condo completes in 8 to 12 weeks. With a loan still on the flat, the bank lends 45%, not 75%.
- 3The flat must be sold within 6 months of the condo purchase date to get the ABSD back. Buyers' agents can see the deadline.
- 4Married couples with a Singapore Citizen spouse apply to IRAS for the refund within 6 months of the sale. Singles get none.
- Loan limit 75% of price with 5% minimum cash; 45% and 25% cash if you buy a private condo while a loan is still outstanding on the flat. A new EC stays at 75%, because the flat has to be sold.
- Total debt servicing (TDSR) capped at 55% of gross income, tested at 4% interest, not at your actual rate. New EC also capped at 30% (MSR) and a S$16,000 household income ceiling (S$18,000 for EC sites tendered from 24 Aug 2026).
- Loan tenure is 30 years or up to age 65, whichever is shorter, using the buyers' income-weighted average age.
- BSD 1% to 6% in tiers. ABSD 20% on a citizen's second home; not charged upfront on a new EC bought direct from the developer.
- Stamp duty is paid in cash first and can be reimbursed from CPF. CPF limits after age 55, valuation limits and bank-specific haircuts on variable income are not modelled.
How much cash will I have after selling my flat?
Less than the sale price suggests, and that is normal. The bank is repaid first, then everything you took from CPF goes back into your Ordinary Account with accrued interest, then the costs. What is left is your cash. On a $650,000 flat that is often under $90,000 in the bank, with around $300,000 back in CPF.
For an upgrade, both halves count. The CPF refund is not lost: it pays most of the condo downpayment. The cash matters because at least 5% of the condo price must be cash, and stamp duty is paid in cash before CPF reimburses it. If you have not run your numbers yet, the sale proceeds calculator takes about a minute.
How much will the bank lend me?
Up to 75% of the price, if your income supports it. The test is the Total Debt Servicing Ratio: all your monthly repayments, including the new home loan, cannot pass 55% of gross income. Banks do not run that test at the rate you will pay. They use 4%, so a couple in their early forties earning $12,000 a month qualifies for roughly $1.15 million over 22 years, not the $1.27 million a 3% rate would suggest.
Age shortens the loan. Tenure is capped at 30 years or age 65, using the buyers' income-weighted average age, and a shorter tenure means a smaller loan on the same income. This is the limit that catches most upgraders in their late forties: the cash and CPF are there, the loan is not. A new executive condominium adds a second, tighter cap of 30% of income, and a household income ceiling.
Will ABSD apply to me?
Only if you own the flat and the condo at the same time. Sell the flat first and the condo is your only home, so Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty is zero for a Singapore Citizen. Buy first and you pay 20% of the condo price within 14 days. A married couple with at least one Singapore Citizen spouse can claim it back if the flat is sold within six months of the purchase; a single buyer cannot. Either way the money has to exist on day one.
| On a $1.5 million condo | Sell first | Buy first |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum loan | $1,125,000 | $675,000 |
| Minimum cash | $75,000 | $375,000 |
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | $44,600 | $44,600 |
| ABSD upfront | $0 | $300,000 |
| Cash and CPF needed on day one | $419,600 | $1,169,600 |
Buy-first figures assume a loan is still outstanding on the flat, which drops the limit to 45% with 25% in cash. Rates as at September 2026; check IRAS and MAS before relying on them.
Should I buy first or sell first?
Sell first, for most families. You know your exact budget, the loan is a first loan, and there is no ABSD to find. The price is a gap between homes, which a three-month extension of stay usually covers if you ask for it when you grant the option. Buy first only if you can fund the right-hand column above without the sale money. I go through both routes, and the interim housing options, in sell first or buy first.
What the calculator cannot see
It does not know your flat's real selling price, whether your variable income gets a haircut from the bank, or how CPF rules change for buyers past 55. Those move the answer by more than the rounding. The selling price moves it most: every $10,000 more on the flat is $10,000 more downpayment, which supports about $35,000 more condo once stamp duty is counted. That is the side I work on. 83 of my 96 most recent sales were HDB flats, across 20 towns, and I sell HDB flats for a fixed $1,999 plus GST instead of 2%, which on a $650,000 flat leaves about $12,000 more for the next home.
Check your plan before you commit
Send me your flat, the price range you are looking at and your rough cash and CPF, and I will tell you which route fits and what the flat should fetch, before you sign anything on either side.
WhatsApp James · +65 8688 0009
Licensed real estate salesperson, CEA R051864Z. 665 transactions since 2015. Creator of the C.H.O.I.C.E. framework and author of Buy & Sell Properties Start With C.H.O.I.C.E. I sell for a fixed $1,999 plus GST instead of 2%, with no exclusive agreement to sign.