The cost of buying an HDB resale flat is more than the price. On top of a 25% downpayment with an HDB loan, a buyer pays stamp duty (S$12,600 on a $600,000 flat), a $120 valuation fee, legal fees, mortgage duty, any cash over valuation, insurance and the move itself. Most of it is due in the first few weeks, and some of it can only be paid in cash.
Below is every cost in the order you meet it, with official figures as at November 2026 and a $600,000 flat costed.
Before You Make an Offer
- HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter: free. You need it before the seller can grant you an option. See our HDB income ceiling guide.
- Agent’s commission, if you use one: optional. The Council for Estate Agencies says there is no fixed rate. Our agent commission calculator shows what a given rate costs.
At the Option to Purchase
The resale buying guide sets these:
- Option fee: $1 to $1,000, agreed with the seller, paid in cash.
- Option exercise fee: agreed with the seller. The two fees together cannot exceed $5,000. Both count towards the price.
- Request for Value: $120 including GST, paid by the buyer, non-refundable, submitted by the next working day after the option date if you are using a loan or CPF (HDB).
Cash Over Valuation
HDB lends up to 75% of the price or the valuation, whichever is lower, according to its loan guide. CPF use is capped the same way. So if you agree a price above valuation, the difference is cash, on top of everything else.
This is the cost most likely to surprise first-time buyers. HDB says the value is typically available within about 10 working days of the Request for Value, inside the 21-day option period, so you can see the gap before you exercise the option. Paying the option fee already commits a small sum.
The short version: Budget for 25% of the price or valuation (from CPF, cash or both), plus stamp duty, plus any cash over valuation in hard cash, plus several thousand dollars in fees and insurance. Know the valuation risk before you exercise the option.
Stamp Duty and the Downpayment
At the initial payment stage you pay:
- Downpayment: 25% of the price or valuation (whichever is lower) with an HDB loan, from CPF, cash or both. With a bank loan, it is 25% (at least 5% in cash) at 75% loan-to-value, or 45% (at least 10% in cash) where the 55% limit applies.
- Buyer’s Stamp Duty: banded, on the higher of price or value. $11,100 on $550,000 and $12,600 on $600,000 at IRAS’s rates. CPF can be used.
- ABSD: nil for a Citizen household’s first home; 5% for a Permanent Resident household’s first home (IRAS).
- Legal fees: if HDB acts for you, its fees follow a published scale based on the price; HDB’s Legal Fees Enquiry facility gives the figure for your flat. A private lawyer quotes their own fee.
Our guide to stamp duty on Singapore property explains the bands.
At Completion and After
- Mortgage duty: 0.4% of the loan, capped at $500 (IRAS). A loan of $125,000 or more pays the full $500.
- Balance of the price: paid at the completion appointment, about eight weeks after HDB accepts the resale application.
- HDB fire insurance: compulsory with an HDB loan, renewed every five years while the loan lasts.
- Home Protection Scheme: compulsory if you pay instalments from CPF, unless exempted; see DPS and HPS.
- Service and Conservancy Charges: monthly, to the Town Council.
- Renovation and moving: not set by any rule, often the largest item after the downpayment. If you borrow for it, see renovation loans.
The Cost of Buying an HDB Resale Flat: $600,000 Costed
An illustrative Citizen couple, first-time buyers, agree $600,000 for a resale flat valued at $590,000, with an HDB loan. Our own figures; grants left out.
| Item | Amount | Paid from |
|---|---|---|
| Cash over valuation | $10,000 | Cash only |
| Downpayment, 25% of $590,000 | $147,500 | CPF, cash or both |
| Buyer’s Stamp Duty on $600,000 | $12,600 | CPF or cash |
| Request for Value | $120 | Cash |
| Mortgage duty on a $442,500 loan | $500 | Cash or CPF |
| Subtotal before legal fees, insurance and renovation | $170,720 | |
| HDB loan, 75% of $590,000 | $442,500 | About $2,007 a month over 25 years at 2.6% |
The option and exercise fees, up to $5,000, are part of the downpayment, not extra. Illustration only; the HDB loan rate is reviewed quarterly. CPF housing grants would reduce the loan or the cash needed.
What To Do Next
- List your own figures in the purchase cost summary and check the stamp duty with the stamp duty calculator.
- Plan the dates with the HDB resale timeline planner.
- Keep a cash buffer for cash over valuation before you start viewing.
- Read the full buying sequence in how to buy a house in Singapore.
