On 28 July 2026, the government scrapped the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners buying an HDB resale flat.
The rule that made private owners wait more than a year after selling their home before buying a resale flat is gone – with immediate effect.
For some people, this unlocks a move they’ve wanted to make for years.
But before you list your private property, we suggest reading this post first, as we cover who this actually helps, what other policies still apply, and how to think about the timing.
This is a decision we help people work through every week at Propseller, so we’ll be honest about both sides.
What exactly changed on 28 July 2026?
National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced the removal at the Singapore Economic Review Conference, in a joint statement from the Ministry of National Development and HDB.
Private residential property owners – and former owners – of any age can now buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat with no wait-out period.
That applies to any flat size.
Previously, the only exception was for seniors aged 55 and above, and only if they moved to a 4-room or smaller flat. That age and size restriction is now gone.
You also no longer need to file a waiver appeal to skip the wait. For context, HDB had processed around 5,500 such appeals as at 31 March 2025, and approved roughly a quarter of them.
However, there is still an important condition to note: this applies to flats bought without an HDB housing loan.
Who does the 15-month HDB wait-out period apply to?
The change helps more people than the old exemption did, but it isn’t universal. Here’s the quick version.
| Your situation | Wait-out before | Wait-out now |
|---|---|---|
| Private owner buying resale with cash or a bank loan | 15 months | None |
| Private owner buying resale with an HDB loan | 15 months | Still applies |
| Seniors 55+ moving to a 4-room or smaller flat | Exempt | Exempt (now any size) |
| Buying a subsidised flat (BTO or resale with grants) | 30 months | Still applies |
So the sweet spot is clear.
If you can fund your resale flat with your sale proceeds and a bank loan (or cash), you can move now.
If you were counting on an HDB loan, the wait-out still stands.
What did NOT change?
This is where a lot of the quick coverage gets sloppy – and where you can trip up if you assume too much.
The removal applies only to non-subsidised resale flats bought without an HDB housing loan. Take an HDB loan, and the 15-month wait-out still applies.
Subsidised flats are a separate track. New BTO flats, or resale flats bought with grants, keep their own longer wait-out rule of 30 months.
You still have to dispose of your private property within six months of buying the HDB flat.
Standard HDB eligibility still applies too – citizenship, forming an eligible family nucleus, and income ceilings where relevant.
None of this should stop an eligible buyer. But it does mean the smart move is to confirm your financing and eligibility before you commit.
Why did the government remove it now?
The short answer: the HDB resale market has cooled, and the rule had done its job.
Minister Chee Hong Tat framed it plainly – the measure had “met its purpose” and was always meant to be temporary.
Resale price growth has slowed sharply, from 10.4% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2025.
The HDB Resale Price Index then fell 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and another 0.3% in the second – two consecutive quarterly declines, the first drops in roughly seven years.
Supply is rising too. According to data.gov.sg, the number of flats reaching their MOP and entering the resale market is set to climb from around:
- 7,400 in 2025 to 13,500 in 2026,
- 19,000 in 2027, and
- 21,400 in 2028.
The wait-out period was first introduced on 30 September 2022, when resale prices were climbing fast and the government wanted to cool demand from cash-rich private owners downgrading and outbidding others for larger flats.
It came alongside a cut to the HDB loan-to-value limit (from 85% to 80%, later tightened to 75% in August 2024) and a 3% interest-rate floor on HDB loans.
With prices moderating and supply improving, the rule was no longer needed.
So should you sell your private property and buy an HDB now?
Here’s the honest answer: for some owners this is a clear yes, and for others it’s a “wait.”
Let’s take both.
This genuinely helps you if…
You’re right-sizing to free up cash and CPF. Selling a condo or landed home and buying a resale flat can release a large chunk of capital and clear your mortgage.
You want to retire without a housing loan. Many owners in their 50s and 60s have wanted exactly this move – and were the ones most boxed in by the old rule.
You have the funds to buy with cash or a bank loan. That’s the condition that makes the immediate move possible.
You’d been sitting on a waiver appeal. You can stop waiting; eligible non-loan buyers no longer need one.
You may want to pause if…
You need an HDB loan to make the numbers work. The wait-out still applies to you, so your timing is different.
Your condo is still within its Seller’s Stamp Duty window or a mortgage lock-in. Selling too early can cost you – check our stamp duty guide before you list.
This is the pattern we see at Propseller all the time: the people who do best move deliberately, with the maths in front of them – not because of a headline.
If you want to know where you stand, the fastest first step is finding out what your current home is worth. You can get an estimate with our property valuation tool for a condo or landed home, or the HDB valuation tool if you’re selling a flat.
The 15-month wait is gone – but a 6-month clock takes its place
Under the old rule, the obstacle was up front: sell your private home, then wait 15 months before you could buy a flat.
Now you can buy the resale flat right away — but if you buy first, you must dispose of your private property within six months of that purchase.
So the pressure has shifted from a 15-month wait before you buy, to a 6-month sell-by deadline after your purchase.
And a hard deadline is precisely what leads people to accept the first weak offer just to beat the clock.
Here’s what that rush can cost.
Say a couple buys a S$700,000 resale flat, then needs to sell their condo – worth around S$1,600,000 – inside the six-month window.
Sell it properly, on a proper marketing timeline like ours (average 31 days to sell a condo), and they might land around 2% above market – roughly +S$32,000.
Sell it against the clock, taking a discounted offer to avoid breaching the deadline, and they could just as easily land 2% below – about -S$32,000.
That’s a S$64,000 swing, created entirely by selling under pressure.
| Selling the condo | On a proper timeline (+2%) | Against the 6-month clock (-2%) |
| Sale price | S$1,632,000 | S$1,568,000 |
| Difference vs market | +S$32,000 | -S$32,000 |
| Gap between the two | S$64,000 | |
(Figures are illustrative)
By comparison, a selling commission from 1% on that condo is around S$16,000, plus 9% GST – a fraction of what a rushed sale gives away.
That’s the practical catch in this policy change. It hands you freedom to move, but also a six-month deadline – and the way to beat the deadline isn’t to fire-sale your condo. It’s to get the sale running early and properly, ideally lined up before or alongside your flat purchase, so the clock never forces your hand.
Why acting sooner beats waiting
Timing a property market perfectly is impossible, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But the structural signals right now reward moving deliberately rather than drifting.
For those selling their private properties and buying a HDB resale flat: removing the wait-out adds a fresh pool of cash and bank-loan private buyers to the market, driving up HDB prices. That competition builds over time, so buying before it fully arrives can work in your favour – our guide to buying a resale HDB, start to finish walks through the process.
For upgraders going the other way – HDB to condo – the same conditions can make this a reasonable entry point too, as there are now more condos available for you to select from now. Our upgrade HDB to condo guide covers that path.
The takeaway isn’t “panic.” It’s that the reasons to sit and wait are weaker than they were a month ago.
Should you handle this move on your own, or with an agent?
You can absolutely transact on your own, and some people do. But a move like this usually means two transactions – selling your private home and buying a flat – with real money riding on how well the sale is run.
Here’s what working with Propseller looks like:
- We sell homes on average around 2% above market value.
- HDB flats sell in 19 days on average, with a 91% chance of selling within 90 days.
- Private properties sold in 31 days on average, way within the 6-month deadline
- Commission from 1%, versus the roughly 2% many traditional agents charge.
- Our agents rank in the top 1% by transactions
- 1,000+ condos sold and 2,000+ HDB flats bought since 2019, and a 4.8/5 rating from over 1,000 reviews.
- A full-service team behind your dedicated agent – professional photography, 3D virtual tours, multi-portal marketing, and an app to track every enquiry, viewing, and offer.
If you’re selling the private property side of this move, that’s exactly where good pricing and marketing pay for themselves – see how we handle a condo sale or a landed sale.
So, is now your window?
The 15-month wait-out period is gone, and for a lot of private owners that removes the single biggest obstacle to right-sizing into an HDB flat.
If you can fund the purchase without an HDB loan, you can move today.
But the smart version of this move isn’t about rushing. It’s about confirming your financing, checking the rules that still apply, and – above all – selling your current home well.
That last part is where the real money is won or lost.
So if this change has you thinking, start with the number that matters: what your home is actually worth.
And if you’re ready to make the move, click on the button below for a free consultation with a Propseller agent.
