15-month wait-out period for private property owners to buy HDB resale flats removed: Chee Hong Tat
HDB resale prices have fallen for two consecutive quarters since the start of the year.
Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
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SINGAPORE: The 15-month wait-out period for people who sell their private properties to buy Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats will be removed with immediate effect, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced on Tuesday (Jul 28).
Speaking at the 11th Singapore Economic Review Conference, Mr Chee said that authorities recognised that with the 15-month wait-out period, households with genuine housing needs faced inconveniences and disruption to their plans plans to switch from private property to resale flats.
“As market conditions have improved, we have assessed that the 15-month wait-out period has met its purpose and will be removed with immediate effect,” he said.
The removal of the wait-out period means private residential property owners and former owners of such properties can buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat without an HDB housing loan, said the Ministry of National Development (MND).
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The HDB resale market has shown signs of stabilisation. HDB resale prices have declined for two consecutive quarters since the start of the year – the resale price index fell 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, and 0.3 per cent in the second quarter.
This follows five consecutive quarters of slower or no price growth from the last quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025.
“This is further supported by a larger number of new flats completing their minimum occupation period (MOP) and entering the resale market over the next few years. The government has therefore assessed that the 15-month wait-out period can now be removed,” said MND.
The 15-month wait-out period for private property owners was among a slew of property cooling measures introduced in September 2022.
The move was to moderate the demand for HDB resale flats and help prioritise access to affordable public housing for Singaporeans with more urgent housing needs, such as first-time homebuyers. Authorities said then that it was a temporary measure.
Singaporeans aged 55 and above were exempted from the 15-month wait-out period if they moved from their private property to a four-room or smaller non-subsidised HDB resale flat.
Since its introduction in 2022, HDB has processed about 1,800 appeals annually from private property owners to waive the 15-month wait-out period, MND said in a written parliamentary response last year.
This number has been “stable” over the last few years, with HDB acceding to about one in four appeals, the ministry said. This is mainly for households in financial difficulties or extenuating circumstances, who have no alternative housing options.
MND said on Tuesday that for those with pending appeals, they no longer need to wait for HDB’s reply and can proceed to apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter directly. HDB will also be contacting these appellants directly.
Private property owners will be required to sell their units – whether in Singapore or overseas – within six months from the completion of the HDB resale flat purchase.
For private property owners who wish to buy a subsided HDB flat – a BTO flat with or without grants, or a resale flat with housing grants – or an executive condominium (EC) unit from a property developer, they will still need to wait for 30 months after the sale of their unit.
Source: CNA/mh(mi)
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