Buying your first home

Buying your first home in Singapore

Most first-time buyers start with an HDB flat. A couple can buy one if one of them is a Singapore Citizen and the other a citizen or PR, both are at least 21 and neither owns private property; singles can buy from 35. Get an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter first: it tells you which flats, grants and HDB loan you qualify for. First-timer families buying a resale flat can get up to $230,000 in CPF housing grants. You pay at least 25% of the price from CPF savings and cash, plus Buyer’s Stamp Duty; a citizen pays no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty on a first home.

Checked against official sources on 22 October 2026

What a first-timer can buy

A new HDB flat (BTO): the most subsidy, but you apply in a sales exercise, are balloted and wait for the flat to be built. See the BTO application guide.
An HDB resale flat: you can move in within months, choose the exact flat and block, and use the resale grants below.
An executive condominium: a condo sold by a developer, with an income ceiling and a CPF Housing Grant for eligible first-timers. See the EC guide.
A private condo or landed home: no income ceiling and no grants. You need a bank loan, and a PR pays Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty even on a first home.

Who can buy an HDB flat

Couples and families: you must be a Singapore Citizen, include at least 1 other citizen or PR, and be at least 21.
Singles: citizens aged 35 and above can buy a resale flat of any type except a 3Gen flat, or a 2-room Flexi flat from HDB.
A household of PRs only can buy a resale flat once all of them have been PRs for at least 3 years; it cannot buy a new flat.
Income: a new flat has an income ceiling, $16,000 a month for a 4-room or 5-room flat. A resale flat has none, but the CPF housing grants (other than the Proximity Housing Grant) and an HDB loan need the household to earn up to $16,000 a month.
Private property: to buy a new flat, or a resale flat with a CPF housing grant or an HDB loan, nobody listed may own private residential property, here or overseas, or have sold it in the last 30 months. To buy a resale flat without them, you can own it but must sell it within 6 months of completing the flat purchase.

Get your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter first

Apply on the HDB Flat Portal with Singpass. The letter tells you whether you can buy a new or resale flat, and how much in CPF housing grants and HDB loan you can get.
HDB takes up to a month after it has all your documents, longer around a sales exercise.
The letter is valid for 9 months. You need it when you apply for a new flat, and for a resale flat before the seller grants you the Option to Purchase and when you submit the resale application.

CPF housing grants for first-timers

Grants are paid into the buyers’ CPF Ordinary Accounts and lower the price or the loan. Your HFE letter states the amounts you qualify for.

CPF Housing Grant for a resale flat (families): $80,000 for a 2-room to 4-room flat when both of you are citizens, or $70,000 for a citizen and a PR; $50,000 or $40,000 for a 5-room or bigger flat.
Enhanced CPF Housing Grant: up to $120,000 for a new or resale flat, for first-timer families earning up to $9,000 a month. Lower incomes get more. At least one of you must have worked for 12 months in a row before applying for the HFE letter, and still be working.
Proximity Housing Grant: $30,000 to live with your parents or child in a resale flat, or $20,000 to live within 4 km of them.
Singles: a $40,000 Singles Grant for a 2-room to 4-room resale flat, or $25,000 for a 5-room flat, and an Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) of up to $60,000 for those earning up to $4,500 a month.
The flat needs more than 20 years of lease left for any grant.

Paying for it: cash, CPF and the loan

HDB loan: up to 75% of the price of a new flat, or of the lower of the resale price and HDB’s valuation. You must use your CPF Ordinary Account savings first, keeping up to $20,000. The loan runs at most 25 years, and ends by the time the average buyer is 65.
Bank loan: up to 75% of the lower of the price and the valuation, with at least 5% paid in cash; the rest can come from your CPF Ordinary Account. It can run up to 30 years.
Any amount you agree to pay above HDB’s valuation, called cash over valuation, must be paid in cash.
Your instalments for an HDB flat or a new EC may take up to 30% of your gross monthly income (Mortgage Servicing Ratio), and all your debt repayments up to 55% (Total Debt Servicing Ratio).

Stamp duty

Buyer’s Stamp Duty: 1% of the first $180,000, 2% of the next $180,000, 3% of the next $640,000 and 4% of the next $500,000. A $600,000 flat pays $12,600.
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty on a first home: none for a Singapore Citizen, 5% for a PR and 60% for a foreigner. A citizen pays 20% on a second home.
Both are charged on the higher of the price and the market value, and are due within 14 days of signing the purchase document.

The remaining lease and the age-95 rule

Most HDB flats have a 99-year lease, counted from the block’s lease start. When the lease left does not last until the youngest buyer turns 95, HDB pro-rates the loan down from 75%, and CPF savings and the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant are pro-rated too, so more of the price is paid in cash. The HDB loan also cannot run past the remaining lease minus 20 years. Check a flat’s lease start on HDB Map, or on its Homejourney listing, before you make an offer.

Buying an HDB resale flat, step by step

Get your HFE letter. If you want a bank loan, get an in-principle approval from the bank as well.
Find a flat and agree a price. Compare it with recent resale prices in the block and town.
The seller grants you the Option to Purchase on HDB’s form, and you pay an Option Fee of $1 to $1,000. The option stays open for 21 calendar days.
If you use CPF savings or a loan, submit a Request for Value on My Flat Dashboard so HDB values the flat. With a bank loan, you need its Letter of Offer before you exercise the option.
Exercise the option within the 21 days and pay the Option Exercise Fee. The two fees together are at most $5,000 and count towards the price.
Submit your part of the resale application, $40 for a 1-room or 2-room flat and $80 for a bigger one. You and the seller must each submit within 7 calendar days of the other.
HDB tells you within 28 working days whether it accepts the application. You then endorse the documents it prepares and pay the fees online.
Collect the keys at the resale completion, about 8 weeks after HDB accepts the application.

See what HDB flats sell for

Homejourney shows the median HDB resale price and price per square foot for every street over the latest 12 months, from official HDB data, so you can tell a fair price from one far above the valuation.

Browse HDB resale prices

Questions

How much grant can a first-time buyer get for a resale flat?

Up to $230,000 for a first-timer family of two citizens: a $80,000 CPF Housing Grant for a 2-room to 4-room flat, an Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $120,000 if the household earns up to $9,000 a month, and a $30,000 Proximity Housing Grant to live with parents or a child.

Can I buy an HDB flat as a single?

Yes, from age 35 if you are a Singapore Citizen. You can buy a resale flat of any type except a 3Gen flat, or a 2-room Flexi flat from HDB, and get a Singles Grant of up to $40,000 for a resale flat.

Do I need an HFE letter to buy a resale flat?

Yes. You need a valid HFE letter before the seller grants you the Option to Purchase, and when you submit the resale application. It takes up to a month and is valid for 9 months.

Can I buy my first home with CPF and no cash?

With an HDB loan, the 25% down payment can come fully from your CPF Ordinary Account, but the option fees and any cash over valuation are paid in cash. With a bank loan, at least 5% of the price must be cash.

Do first-time buyers pay ABSD?

A Singapore Citizen pays no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty on a first home. A PR pays 5% and a foreigner 60%. Everyone pays Buyer’s Stamp Duty.

Can PRs buy an HDB flat?

A household of PRs only can buy a resale flat once all of them have been PRs for 3 years, but not a new flat. A citizen buying with a PR spouse can buy either.

Sources

Rules and fees change. Check the linked official pages before you commit, and ask a lawyer about your own sale or purchase.

Related guides

Applying for a BTO flat

Who can apply for a BTO flat, the income ceilings, the HFE letter, ballot chances and priority schemes, and what happens if you do not book. With a checker for your household.

How much cash you need to buy an HDB resale flat

The cash and CPF needed for an HDB resale flat: the 25% down payment, the $5,000 option deposit, cash over valuation, stamp duty and HDB fees, with a worked example.

TDSR and MSR in Singapore

How much you can borrow for a Singapore home: TDSR caps all debt at 55% of income, MSR caps home loans at 30% for HDB flats and ECs. Calculator at the 4% and 3% stress-test rates.

Buyer's Stamp Duty in Singapore

Work out Buyer's Stamp Duty on a Singapore home: the 1% to 6% residential rates from IRAS, a calculator with each band, worked examples and when to pay.

Buying an executive condominium (EC)

Who can buy a new executive condominium, the $18,000 income ceiling, the CPF Housing Grant of up to $30,000, how an EC is paid for and what applies after you buy. With a calculator.