Plan the move, not just the purchase
Sell first, buy first, or run both at once. Each fails differently and the failures are expensive. Answer a few questions and get the pathway that fits your position, with every deadline marked.
The three pathways, and how each one fails
Sell first
Sell, know your exact budget, then buy.
What it gives you
No bridging loan, no ABSD exposure, no forfeit risk. You shop with real cash, which is a stronger negotiating position, and the worst case — owning two properties you cannot finance — is off the table entirely.
What it costs you
You will probably move twice and pay for storage in between. You are buying into whatever market exists after you sell. And the gap between handing over your keys and collecting new ones has to be solved before completion, not after.
Buy first
Secure the new home, then sell under a deadline.
What it gives you
One move, directly. No interim rental, no storage, no second disruption. You buy the home you actually want rather than whatever is available after your sale completes.
What it costs you
If the new property is private and you still own the old one, ABSD is paid in cash upfront — 20% for a Singapore Citizen second property — and refunded only if you sell within six months. Miss it and the money is gone. A bridging loan runs about six months before banks may convert it to a personal loan at 10–12%. And a deadline is the weakest position a seller can negotiate from.
Concurrent sale and purchase
Run both sides together and complete within days of each other.
What it gives you
One move, no interim housing, no bridging loan, no ABSD exposure. The shortest total timeline when it works.
What it costs you
Two counterparties must both cooperate on timing, and you control neither. A slip on either side cascades into the other. It needs a pre-decided fallback, which most people only think about once things are already going wrong.
Timings reflect the HDB resale process as at July 2026: roughly 21 working days to issue an HFE letter (valid 9 months), 21 calendar days for a buyer to exercise an Option to Purchase, about 2 weeks from resale application to HDB approval, and about 8 weeks from that approval to completion. A temporary extension of stay covers up to 3 months, must be requested by both parties at the resale application, and is a private agreement HDB will not mediate. Confirm anything material with HDB, CPF Board or IRAS before you act on it.
