The 15-month wait-out is gone, with one big catch

Private property owners no longer have to wait 15 months after selling to buy an HDB resale flat. The change took effect immediately on 28 July. It comes with a condition that will decide who actually benefits: the removal only covers purchases made without an HDB housing loan.

National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced the removal at the Singapore Economic Review Conference on 28 July, saying the measure had met its purpose now that market conditions have improved. The Ministry of National Development and HDB confirmed the change applies to private residential property owners and former owners buying a non-subsidised resale flat, with immediate effect.

The wait-out period arrived on 30 September 2022 as part of that year’s round of cooling measures. Anyone who sold a private property had to wait 15 months before buying a resale flat on the open market, a rule aimed at cooling demand and keeping resale flats within reach of buyers with more urgent housing needs, first-timers especially. Singaporeans aged 55 and above were exempted, but only if they moved to a 4-room or smaller flat.

Why the Government moved now

The official reasoning rests on two things: prices and supply.

On prices, the HDB Resale Price Index has now fallen for two consecutive quarters, down 0.1% in Q1 2026 and 0.3% in Q2. That is the first back-to-back decline since 2019, and it followed five straight quarters of slower or flat growth from late 2024 through 2025.

On supply, the pipeline of young flats entering the resale market is swelling. About 13,500 flats complete their five-year Minimum Occupation Period this year, up from 8,000 in 2025. Another 15,000 follow in 2027 and 19,500 in 2028.

The growing wave of newly MOP-ed flats gave the Government room to lift the restriction. Source: HDB press release, 27 July 2026

There was also a human cost to the rule. Mr Chee acknowledged that households with genuine housing needs faced disruption to their plans. HDB has been processing about 1,800 waiver appeals a year since the rule began, according to an MND parliamentary reply last year, and granted roughly one in four, mostly for households in financial difficulty with no other housing option.

The fine print matters

The removal is narrower than the headline suggests. Here is what actually changed, and what did not.

If you sell a private property and buy a resale flat with cash or a bank loan, you can now proceed straight away. You will still need an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter first, and you must sell your private property, whether in Singapore or overseas, within six months of completing the flat purchase.

If you want an HDB housing loan for that purchase, the old rules still apply: a 30-month wait after selling your private property. The same 30-month wait remains for anyone buying a subsidised flat, meaning a BTO flat or a resale flat with grants, or a new executive condominium from a developer.

HDB has kept the admin simple. Buyers holding a valid HFE letter are unaffected. Applications being processed will be updated automatically. Anyone with a pending waiver appeal no longer needs to wait for HDB’s reply and can apply for an HFE letter directly. And seniors who were previously exempted only for smaller flats can cancel and re-apply if they now want a 5-room or larger unit.

What this means for you

• Selling a condo to move to a flat? The 15-month barrier is gone, but your financing route decides your timeline. Cash or bank loan means you can buy now; an HDB loan still means a 30-month wait. Budget for the six-month window to dispose of your private property after completion.
• Already holding an HFE letter or waiting on an appeal? You do not need to do anything. HDB says it will update in-process applications automatically and contact appellants directly.
• Aged 55 or above and previously capped at a 4-room flat? Larger resale flats are now open to you without the wait. If you hold a valid HFE letter, you can cancel and re-apply to change your target flat size.
• Own a flat in a central or mature town and thinking of selling? A pool of private-property sellers just re-entered your buyer market, and they tend to shop at the larger and pricier end. That new demand lands just as MOP supply climbs sharply, so watch how the million-dollar segment absorbs it over the next two quarters.