HDB to Condo Upgrade 2026: Sell First or Buy First?

Condo swimming pool in front of tall residential towers — A condo pool and towers. Photo: Enam Sape on Unsplash

At a glance

When you can start: After the flat's 5-year MOP (10 years for Plus and Prime flats)
Bank loan limit: 75% of the price with no other housing loan; 45% with one outstanding
Income test: TDSR 55% of gross income, stress-tested at 4%; MSR 30% also applies to new ECs
ABSD if you buy first: 20% for a Singapore citizen's second home, refundable to married couples who sell within 6 months
New EC rule: Income ceiling S$16,000, or S$18,000 for ECs on land tendered from 24 Aug 2026; sell the HDB flat within 6 months of completing the EC purchase
Checked: 12 October 2026

The short answer

Sell the flat first, then buy, unless you have a lot of spare cash. Selling first means your condo loan is assessed as your only housing loan, so the bank can lend up to 75% of the price, and you pay no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). Buying first works, but it needs ABSD money upfront and a far bigger down payment while the HDB loan is still on your books.

Before either, your flat must be past its Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). That is 5 years for most flats and 10 years for Plus and Prime flats. During the MOP, HDB does not let owners, spouses or occupiers buy any private residential property, in Singapore or overseas.

To run your own numbers, use our sell-and-upgrade calculator. The sections below explain what it is doing.

Sell first or buy first

The order decides your ABSD bill, your loan limit and where you live in between.

	Sell HDB first	Buy condo first
ABSD on the condo	None (you own nothing else)	20% for a citizen, paid within 14 days; married couples can claim it back if the flat is sold in time
Bank loan limit	Up to 75% of the price	Up to 45% while the HDB loan is outstanding
Minimum cash down payment	5% of the price	25% of the price
Where you live	Rent, family, or a short extension of stay	Stay in the flat until it sells
Main risk	Condo prices move while you search	Flat does not sell within 6 months and you lose the ABSD refund

The loan limits come from MAS rules published on MoneySense: 75% with no outstanding housing loan, 45% with one, and lower still (55% and 25%) if the tenure runs past 30 years or past age 65. Ask your bank how it treats a flat that has been sold but not yet completed, because the answer changes how much you can borrow.

The 6-month rules, and which one applies to you

There are three different “six months” in an upgrade. Mixing them up is the most common mistake we see.

ABSD remission (IRAS). A married couple, with at least one Singapore citizen spouse, buying a second home jointly can get the ABSD refunded if they sell the first home within 6 months of buying the condo. For a condo still under construction, the 6 months run from the earlier of its TOP or CSC date.
All-PR households (HDB). If no owner is a citizen, HDB requires you to sell the flat within 6 months of buying a local private property.
New EC purchase (HDB). If you own an HDB flat and buy a new EC from a developer, you must dispose of the flat within 6 months of completing the EC purchase.

Citizen households buying a private condo do not have to sell the flat at all. HDB lets them keep it after the MOP, as long as they keep living in it or rent it out with approval. They just pay 20% ABSD on the condo.

The 2026 wait-out change

The rule removed in 2026 affects people moving the other way. In late July 2026 HDB scrapped the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners buying a non-subsidised HDB resale flat without an HDB loan. It had been in place since September 2022.

For upgraders, the effect is on the selling side. Private owners who are right-sizing can now buy straight away, and analysts reported more enquiries from them for 5-room and executive flats in the third quarter. If you are selling a large flat in a mature town, you have more buyers than you did a year ago. See our September 2026 market update.

Loan limits: LTV, TDSR and MSR

Three tests decide how big a loan you can get.

Test	Limit	Applies to
Loan-to-value (LTV)	75% of price or valuation, with no other housing loan	All bank loans
Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR)	All monthly debt repayments up to 55% of gross income	All property loans
Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)	Home loan repayment up to 30% of gross income	HDB flats and new ECs, not private condos

Banks do not test TDSR at today’s rate. MAS sets a floor of 4% a year for residential property loans, so your affordability is worked out as if you were paying 4%. Bank loans for private property can run up to 35 years, but the 75% limit only applies if the tenure is 30 years or less and ends by age 65.

MSR is the reason an EC can feel tighter than a condo of the same price. With MSR at 30%, the mortgage alone cannot exceed 30% of income, while a private condo buyer can go up to 55% if they have no other debts.

Condo or EC

A new EC is cheaper per square foot, but has more conditions.

Household income must not exceed S$16,000 a month. For new ECs on land whose tender closed on or after 24 August 2026, the ceiling is S$18,000.
No one in the application can own private residential property, or have sold one in the past 30 months.
If you have bought from HDB before, you are a second-timer and pay a resale levy.
You must dispose of your HDB flat within 6 months of completing the EC purchase.

A private condo has no income ceiling and no resale levy, and citizen households can keep the flat. The trade-off is a higher price and no MSR cap protecting you from overborrowing.

Cash and CPF: what your sale leaves you

When the flat completes, the sale money is used in a fixed order: your outstanding housing loan first, then the CPF refund, then sale expenses. Whatever is left is paid to you in cash.

The CPF refund is the CPF principal you used for the flat plus the accrued interest. It goes back into your own Ordinary Account if you are under 55, and you can use it for the next home. If the sale proceeds are too small to cover the full refund and you sold at market value, CPF says you do not have to top up the difference in cash.

For the purchase, at least 5% of the price must be paid in cash. The next 20% can come from cash or CPF.

Worked example: sell a 4-room for S$650,000, buy a S$1.6 million condo

Assumptions (yours will differ): a married couple, both citizens, under 40. The 4-room has an outstanding HDB loan of S$180,000 and S$200,000 of CPF plus accrued interest to refund. Agent commission is taken at 2% plus GST, which is negotiable. They have S$40,000 already in their Ordinary Accounts. They sell first.

The sale

Item	Amount
Sale price	S$650,000
Less outstanding HDB loan	S$180,000
Less CPF refund to OA	S$200,000
Less agent commission (2% + 9% GST)	S$14,170
Cash in hand (before legal fees)	S$255,830
CPF OA after refund (S$200,000 + S$40,000)	S$240,000

The purchase

Item	Amount
Condo price	S$1,600,000
Bank loan at 75%	S$1,200,000
Down payment (25%)	S$400,000
of which cash minimum (5%)	S$80,000
Buyer’s stamp duty	S$49,600
Total upfront (before legal fees)	S$449,600

Funding: S$240,000 from CPF towards the down payment, and S$209,600 from the cash pile, which leaves about S$46,000 in cash for legal fees, renovation and a buffer.

Buyer’s stamp duty on S$1.6 million is 1% on the first S$180,000, 2% on the next S$180,000, 3% on the next S$640,000, 4% on the next S$500,000 and 5% on the last S$100,000.

The income test. A S$1.2 million, 30-year loan costs about S$5,729 a month at the 4% stress rate. To stay inside the 55% TDSR, the couple needs a gross income of about S$10,417 a month, with no car loan or other debts. A car loan of S$1,000 a month would push the requirement to about S$12,235.

If they bought first instead. ABSD at 20% would be S$320,000, due within 14 days of signing. With the HDB loan still outstanding, the bank could lend only 45%, so the down payment would jump to S$880,000. That is why buying first is usually only an option for households with large savings or a flat that is already fully paid.

Timeline for a sell-first upgrade

A sell-first upgrade usually takes four to six months from listing the flat to collecting condo keys. The HDB side, explained step by step in our HDB resale process guide, runs like this.

Register the Intent to Sell, then wait 7 days before granting an Option to Purchase.
The buyer has 21 days to exercise the option.
HDB accepts the resale application and completion follows about 8 weeks later.
If you have committed to buy a completed private property, you can ask the buyer for a temporary extension of stay of up to 3 months after completion. The buyer must agree, and the extension is not available if your next home is still being built.

Get your bank’s approval in principle for the condo loan before you grant the option on your flat, so you know your ceiling before the clock starts.

Common questions

Should I sell my HDB first or buy the condo first?

Selling first is simpler and cheaper for most families. You avoid fronting ABSD, and the bank will lend up to 75% of the condo price because you have no other housing loan. Buying first secures the unit you want, but you need cash for ABSD within 14 days and a much larger down payment while your HDB loan is outstanding.

Do I have to sell my HDB flat if I buy a private condo?

Not if at least one owner is a Singapore citizen and the flat has passed its MOP. HDB lets citizen households keep the flat. You would pay 20% ABSD on the condo and keep it. All-PR households must sell the flat within 6 months of buying a local private property.

How much cash do I need to upgrade to a S$1.6 million condo?

With a 75% bank loan, the down payment is S$400,000, of which at least S$80,000 (5%) must be cash and the rest can be cash or CPF. Buyer's stamp duty on S$1.6 million is S$49,600. That is about S$449,600 before legal fees.

What income do I need for a S$1.2 million loan?

Banks test the loan at 4% a year. A S$1.2 million, 30-year loan works out to about S$5,729 a month at 4%, so you need a gross household income of about S$10,417 a month if you have no other debts, to stay within the 55% TDSR limit.

Did the 2026 wait-out period change affect upgraders?

Not directly. In late July 2026 HDB removed the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners buying non-subsidised resale flats. That rule applied to people moving from private property to HDB. It does mean more cash-rich private owners are now shopping for larger resale flats, which helps upgraders selling 5-room and executive flats.

Get a free valuation

Tell us your block and flat type. We'll send recent prices for your block and nearby blocks, and what a sale would leave you after your loan and CPF refund.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 12 October 2026.