How do I buy an HDB resale flat?

Firstly, check your eligibility and apply for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter . At the same time, start searching for your new home with 99.co . After you’ve found the right flat and granted the option to purchase (OTP) , you’ll have to request for a valuation from the HDB. If you decide to buy the flat, you can then exercise the OTP and submit the resale application.

Can you get HDB grants for an HDB resale flat?

Yes, the maximum grant that you can get is S$190,000. Grants that you may be eligible for are the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, Family Grant and Proximity Housing Grant.

Can singles buy a 4-room resale flat?

Yes, singles aren’t restricted to the type of flats they can buy. Unlike BTO, they can also buy from any estate, mature or non-mature.

How much do you need to earn to buy an HDB resale flat? (2023)

If the BTO wait is too long and getting a condo is too expensive, your best bet is to go for an HDB resale flat.

Not only are there lots of HDB resale flat options spread across the island, but they also tend to come with a bigger floor area. And the best part about getting an HDB resale flat? If there’s not much renovation to be done, you can move into your new home within three months!

But as with any other property purchases, you need to work out your finances. And with HDB resale prices increasing over the past three years, it’s even more important to ensure that you’re buying one within your means.

Previously, we’ve done an article on how much you need to earn to afford a condo, and another on Executive Condo (EC).

So this time, we crunch the numbers to estimate the monthly income to afford an HDB resale flat in the various estates.

How the estimated monthly instalment and income are calculated

For illustration purposes, we’re using the average resale prices of 4-room HDB resale flats from our Researcher tool, derived from sales transactions from the first six months of 2023 (up to 11 June 2023) in the various HDB towns.

Based on the average prices, we can calculate the estimated monthly instalment using a mortgage calculator.

The estimates will be based on the following assumptions:

You’re taking HDB loan (maximising the 80% loan-to-value ratio, so the downpayment will be 20%)
The loan tenure is the maximum 25 years, with the current interest rate of 2.6%
A stress-test rate of 3% is used to calculate the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)
You’re not paying any other housing loans

When taking a home loan, there’s a limit to how much you can take relative to your income. In the case of public housing, the monthly instalment shouldn’t exceed the 30% mortgage servicing ratio (MSR), which restricts the property loan amount you can take for an HDB flat (new or resale) or a new EC.

Couples stressed over the finances to buy HDB resale flat — For home loans of HDB resale flats, you can only use up to 30% of your monthly income to pay the instalments.

So based on the estimated monthly instalment, we can calculate the monthly income you need to have to buy an HDB resale flat in the various HDB estates. We’re not taking into account any CPF resale grants and savings in the calculations.

The estimated minimum income to buy a resale flat in the various HDB towns

HDB town	Average price of a 4-room flat	Loan amount (80%)	Downpayment (20%)	Estimated monthly instalment (with 2.6% interest rate)	Estimated monthly household income (with 3% stress-test)
Ang Mo Kio	S$643,000	S$514,400	S$128,600	S$2,334	S$8,131
Bedok	S$563,000	S$450,400	S$112,600	S$2,043	S$7,120
Bishan	S$688,000	S$550,400	S$137,600	S$2,497	S$8,700
Bukit Batok	S$587,000	S$469,600	S$117,400	S$2,130	S$7,423
Bukit Merah	S$787,000	S$629,600	S$157,400	S$2,856	S$9,952
Bukit Panjang	S$510,000	S$408,000	S$102,000	S$1,851	S$6,449
Bukit Timah	S$794,000^	S$635,200	S$158,800	S$2,882	S$10,041
Central Area	S$886,000	S$708,800	S$177,200	S$3,216	S$11,204
Choa Chu Kang	S$496,000	S$396,800	S$99,200	S$1,800	S$6,272
Clementi	S$659,000	S$527,200	S$131,800	S$2,392	S$8,333
Geylang	S$620,000	S$496,000	S$124,000	S$2,250	S$7,840
Hougang	S$532,000	S$425,600	S$106,400	S$1,931	S$6,727
Jurong East	S$484,000	S$387,200	S$96,800	S$1,757	S$6,121
Jurong West	S$488,000	S$390,400	S$97,600	S$1,771	S$6,171
Kallang/ Whampoa	S$735,000	S$588,000	S$147,000	S$2,668	S$9,295
Marine Parade	S$572,000^	S$457,600	S$114,400	S$2,076	S$7,233
Pasir Ris	S$551,000	S$440,800	S$110,200	S$2,000	S$6,968
Punggol	S$586,000	S$468,800	S$117,200	S$2,127	S$7,410
Queenstown	S$839,000	S$671,200	S$167,800	S$3,045	S$10,610
Sembawang	S$538,000	S$430,400	S$107,600	S$1,953	S$6,803
Sengkang	S$564,000	S$451,200	S$112,800	S$2,047	S$7,132
Serangoon	S$591,000	S$472,800	S$118,200	S$2,145	S$7,474
Tampines	S$566,000	S$452,800	S$113,200	S$2,054	S$7,157
Toa Payoh	S$725,000	S$580,000	S$145,000	S$2,631	S$9,168
Woodlands	S$488,000	S$390,400	S$97,600	S$1,771	S$6,171
Yishun	S$489,000	S$391,200	S$97,800	S$1,775	S$6,184

^There were less than 20 transactions for the flat type in Bukit Timah and Marine Parade.

*Do note that these estimates are based on the average price (rounded off to 3 significant figures), which may be higher or lower than the actual price. We recommend you to calculate based on the actual price to determine if it’s within your means.

Where are the most affordable HDB resale flats at?

Based on the average prices of 4-room HDB resale flats over the first six months of 2023 (up to 11 June), the most affordable resale flats are generally in Jurong East, Jurong West, Woodlands, Yishun and Choa Chu Kang.

The estimated income range to buy a 4-room HDB resale flat in either one of these estates is around S$6,100 to S$6,300.

Jurong East Jurong West Woodlands Yishun Choa Chu Kang

As you can see from the table above, cheaper flats tend to be located in non-mature estates where the towns are newer and further away from the city centre.

But don’t discount mature estates just yet. You can also find some cheaper flats in mature estates, including Pasir Ris, Bedok, Tampines, Marine Parade and Serangoon, where the average prices of 4-room flats are on the lower end of the spectrum. The downside is that they’re probably older flats.