Differences between new and resale HDB flats:

There are various types of flats that are built to suit a variety of needs.

• 2-room Flexi for small families, singles and elderly
• 3-room for cosy and compact home
• 4-room for a comfortable living space
• 5-room for larger households

See also: HDB flat types and its specifications

The eligibility criteria for different flat types depends on your citizenship, age, income ceiling as well as with whom you are applying for the flat.

Another criteria to note is that you (and whoever listed in your application) do not own other property overseas or locally, and have not disposed of any within the last 30 months.

See also: Overview of Eligibility Conditions

Use this Eligibility Checker to learn what flat types you can purchase and whether you can take an HDB housing loan.

You can use your CPF Ordinary Account (OA) savings to pay for your new or resale HDB flats. Click here to calculate how much CPF you can use to buy a HDB Flat.

If you are a first-time homebuyer, you should also consider the various payments to make for an HDB housing loan, should you require one.

Get your required income documents ready such as your payslips for the past three months and CPF contribution history for the last 15 months.

Apply for your Housing Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter before your HDB appointment.

You can consider the Contra Payment Facility if you are buying an HDB flat and currently own another HDB flat.

This can help you to:

• Reduce the cash outlay needed for your flat
• Reduce the housing loan amount needed and the subsequent monthly repayments (without incurring interest)
• Collect the keys to your flat while selling your existing flat

You may receive up to $80,000 in the form of the CPF Housing Grants. Apply for these grants to lower the initial purchase price of flat if you are eligible.

Note: The amount of grants obtained has to be returned to your CPF Ordinary Account with accrued interest when you sell your flat later. It is not the same as a subsidy where the prices are 'discounted'.

Before you apply, use this eligibility checker to check the type(s) of HDB flat you are are eligible to buy and whether you can obtain an HDB housing loan.

To complete the assessment, you will need to have personal details of you and your co-applicants on hand (e.g. gross monthly income of the past three months, occupation).

To buy a new flat from HDB, you need to apply during a sales launch. Check upcoming HDB sales launches and stay updated with SMS updates

By applying through HDB Priority Schemes, you could improve your chances of getting a balloted number to book an HDB flat. However, do note that you can get priority for only up to 2 schemes.

You may apply for a flat in the following purchase mode(s):

• Build-To-Order/ Sale of Balance Flats/ Open Booking

As an applicant, you can check for updates regarding your flat application and whether a queue number has been balloted to you.

If you have been shortlisted, you will be notified and invited to an HDB flat selection appointment within two weeks from the release of your ballot results.

At this appointment, you will be required to pay a booking fee via NETS. You can also apply for housing grants if eligible.

The booking fees range from $1000 to $2000 depending on the type of flat you choose.

You (and all persons listed in the application) will also need to bring along original copies of these documents:

• Identity cards of all persons listed in the application
• Receipt of booking fee
• Bank passbook and/or a photo of bank statements with your name and bank account number (for the booking fee to be returned to you)
• Letter of Offer from the bank that you will be taking housing loan
• Latest CPF statement(s) if you are currently employed
• Power of Attorney (if you are authorising someone to represent you)
• The person representing you must bring one certified true copy by the solicitors and two photocopies of the signed Power of Attorney

You will also need to log into your Singpass during your appointment if you intend to use CPF savings to pay for your downpayment (usually 10% of the flat price). You can consider if you can split your downpayment into 2 instalments using the Staggered Downpayment Scheme.

You will be invited by HDB to collect your keys when your project is ready. Check your HDB appointment online to know when you can collect your keys.

Do bring along original copies of these documents for your appointment:

• Identity cards of all persons listed in the application
• Certificate of insurance
• You must buy fire insurance from HDB's appointed insurer, FWD Singapore Pte Ltd (FWD), if you are taking an HDB housing loan.
• Latest CPF statement(s) if you are currently employed
• Power of Attorney (if you are authorising someone to represent you)
• The person representing you must bring one certified true copy by the solicitors and two photocopies of the signed Power of Attorney
• Signed GIRO form if you are paying monthly loan instalments partially or fully by cash

You will also be required to log into your Singpass during your appointment if you intend to use CPF savings to pay for your monthly loan instalments.

You can buy a resale flat as long as there is at least 1 Singapore Citizen or 2 Singapore Permanent Residents (PR) to form an eligible family unit in the application. Read more about the other eligibility conditions.

You also can engage an estate agent to manage your flat purchase.

Upon registering your Intent to Buy, you will know whether you can:

• Buy a HDB resale flat
• Apply for which housing grants
• Apply for HDB housing loan (if you intend to loan from HDB)

Do note that your Intent to Buy is valid for 12 months and you need to reapply if no resale application is submitted.

When evaluating options,

• Check details of the flat options such as past resale transactions, Ethnic Integration Policy quotas, Singapore/PR quotas
• Check other HDB resale statistics such as resale price index for overall HDB resale pricing trends.

To enter into a OTP contract, you would be required to go through the following steps after agreeing on the selling price with the seller.

1. Seller grants OTP to you with the agreed amount of Option Fee (between $1 to $1,000)
2. Review purchase during Option Period of 14 days
3. Exercise OTP to proceed with the purchase

You can also choose to let the OTP expire if you decide not to purchase.

After registering your Intent to Buy, you will be guided to apply for an HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter, if you are eligible and intend to get a housing loan from HDB.

You can also get a housing loan from a financial institution (FI).

You and the seller (or the salesperson) can proceed to submit the resale application after you have exercised the Option to Purchase (OTP).

Note that either you or the seller can be the first to submit, but the other party must submit their portion within 7 calendar days.

You will be invited by HDB to endorse resale documents and pay the resale fees online before approving the transaction.

It could take about 8 weeks from HDB's acknowledgement of the resale application to the final step of completing the resale transaction.

Check your resale application status or get notified via SMS once HDB approves.

Once HDB has scheduled your appointment, you will also receive SMS notification on your appointment with HDB.

This is the only resale appointment at HDB you and the seller need to attend. At this appointment, you (and the seller) will:

• Sign the mortgage document/ agreement (if you are taking an HDB housing loan)
• Acknowledge the receipt of the keys to the flat
• Agree on the payment arrangement of the outstanding property tax with the seller
• Indicate how you will pay the first month service/ conservancy charges

You will become the flat owner upon the resale completion and need to pay for various payments such as housing loan, monthly service/ conservancy charges, annual property tax, etc.

See also: Financial Obligations as HDB owner