To upgrade to a bigger HDB flat, most families sell their current flat and buy a larger resale flat, or apply for a new flat from HDB as second-timers. A resale flat bought without a grant carries no resale levy and can be bought around the same time you sell. A new flat comes with a resale levy, fewer ballot chances and a wait, but you keep your current flat until the keys are ready.
Either way, HDB’s rules on a second HDB loan decide how much of your sale money goes straight into the next flat. Here is how it works in 2026, with an illustrative 4-room to 5-room move.
Resale or New Flat: How the Two Routes Compare
| 5-room resale flat | 5-room new flat from HDB | |
|---|---|---|
| Resale levy | None, if bought without a grant | Yes, paid before key collection |
| Ballot | No ballot | Second-timer category; up to 10% of 4-room and bigger flats |
| Timing | Sell and buy around the same time | Keep current flat until keys, then 6 months to sell |
| Downpayment | 25% with an HDB loan | 10% at the Agreement for Lease with an HDB loan |
| ABSD | Remitted if any buyer is a Citizen | Remitted if any buyer is a Citizen |
The ballot and downpayment figures come from HDB’s November 2026 sales exercise details. Second-timer families get one ballot chance; see our BTO application guide. ABSD on an HDB flat is fully remitted when any buyer is a Singapore Citizen, and Permanent Resident buyers pay 5%, according to IRAS. Buyer’s Stamp Duty still applies.
The Resale Levy on a New Flat
The resale levy reduces the subsidy on a second subsidised flat. It is a fixed amount set by the type of flat you sold; HDB’s table for a family selling a 4-room flat from 3 March 2006 shows $40,000. Our guide to selling an HDB flat lists the other flat types.
HDB requires the balance of the price and the levy to be paid in full before key collection. If you have not sold by then, the levy is cash.
Grants for Second-Timers
Most CPF housing grants are for first-timers. Two exceptions worth checking:
- A couple made up of a first-timer and a second-timer may qualify for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) of up to $60,000, if half their average monthly household income is $4,500 or less, according to MyNiceHome.
- The Step-Up CPF Housing Grant is for second-timer families moving to a 2-room or 3-room flat, so it does not help with a 5-room move. See CPF housing grants explained.
Your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter states which grants and loans you qualify for. The family income ceiling for a new flat or an HDB loan is $16,000 a month since 24 August 2026; see HDB eligibility and income ceilings.
The short version: A 5-room resale flat bought without a grant has no resale levy. A new 5-room flat carries one, $40,000 if you sold a 4-room, but lets you stay put until key collection. Take an HDB loan the second time and HDB expects most of your CPF refund and half your cash proceeds to go in first.
A Second HDB Loan: Your Sale Money Goes in First
HDB’s loan rules allow a household up to two HDB loans in total. Before granting the second, HDB requires you to use:
- Your CPF, keeping up to $20,000 per buyer, including the refund from the flat you sold.
- Your cash proceeds, keeping $25,000 or 50% of them (including the cash deposit received), whichever is greater.
The loan then covers up to 75% of the price or value, with instalments capped at 30% of income (the Mortgage Servicing Ratio) and a tenure of up to 25 years or to age 65. A bank loan has no such rule, but HDB flats bought with one are tested at MAS’s 4% rate against both MSR and TDSR. Our comparison of HDB loan vs bank loan covers the other differences.
Upgrading to a Bigger HDB Flat: 4-Room to 5-Room, Costed
An illustrative Citizen couple, both 40, earn S$9,000 a month. They sell their 4-room resale flat for $600,000 with $150,000 of HDB loan left and a $200,000 CPF refund, and have $40,000 in their Ordinary Accounts and $40,000 in cash. Commission is assumed at 2% plus GST. Our own figures; illustration only.
The sale: $600,000 less the loan, the CPF refund, $13,080 commission with GST and $2,500 legal fees leaves $234,420 in cash.
A $750,000 resale 5-room flat with an HDB loan:
- HDB expects $200,000 of CPF ($240,000 less $40,000 kept) and $117,210 of cash (half the proceeds) to go in first: $317,210.
- Loan: $750,000 less $317,210 = $432,790, inside both the 75% limit and the MSR limit.
- Instalment at today’s 2.6% HDB rate over 25 years: about $1,963 a month.
- Buyer’s Stamp Duty: $17,100. Paying that, $2,000 legal fees and $40,000 renovation in cash, they still keep about $98,000 in cash.
The same flat with a bank loan: MSR at the 4% test rate caps the loan at about $511,500, needing $37,500 in cash. Instalment at an assumed 3%: about $2,426 a month. They keep more cash and some CPF, but owe more.
Our HDB upgrade calculator runs both versions with your own figures.
What To Do Next
- Apply for your HFE letter on the HDB Flat Portal before you grant an option on your flat.
- Check what your sale leaves with the HDB sale proceeds calculator and the stamp duty with the stamp duty calculator.
- If you apply for a new flat, plan the six-month sale window and the levy before you book.
- Compare the instalments in the home affordability calculator.
- Before you commit, work through how much home you can afford to upgrade to: three limits and a buffer.
