28 July 2026, Singapore - PropNex welcomes the Government's decision to remove the 15-month wait-out period for private residential property owners purchasing non-subsidised HDB resale flats without an HDB housing loan, as well as the changes to the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) regime to support licensed housing developers (HD) in undertaking large-scale en bloc redevelopments.

Commenting on the revisions, Mr Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex, said:

"We regard the timing as well-judged. The HDB resale market has visibly found more stable footing, with five consecutive quarters of slower or no price growth from the fourth quarter of 2024 through 2025, and the HDB resale price index has since recorded two consecutive quarterly dips of 0.1% in Q1 2026 and 0.3% in Q2 2026.

The 15-month wait-out period, introduced in September 2022, was a temporary tool and it served a targeted purpose at the time - helping to reduce upward pressure on resale prices and to keep resale flats within the reach of buyers who were being outbid by private property owners with greater financial means, drawn from the gains on the sale of their private homes.

As the HDB resale market has settled, that need has eased. Lifting the 15-month wait-out period removes the awkward gap between selling and buying that the rule had imposed on former private home owners planning to purchase a resale HDB flat. It can facilitate housing mobility, particularly for those looking to right-size from private homes to HDB resale flats, including eligible older households or empty nesters, and families adjusting to smaller household sizes or changing financial circumstances. In addition, it may potentially help to free up some private residential resale stock into the market, as some private home owners who are keen to right-size their housing may look to sell their private property.

The removal of the 15-month wait-out period may potentially nudge demand for larger resale flats - 5-room and executive - higher, as former private home owners who would otherwise be kept out enter the market. Based on transaction data, we note that the resale volumes of 5-room and executive flats generally trended downwards for most quarters following the implementation of the 15-month wait-out measure in Q3 2022 (September). For instance, the transactions of 5-room flats fell by 19.3% from 1,853 units in Q3 2022 to 1,495 units in Q4 2022, while that of resale executive flats declined by 22.0% QOQ to 418 units in Q4 2022 (see Chart 1). In fact, quarterly sales of such flats did not exceed their Q3 2022 levels in any quarter up to the first half of 2026, though other factors including higher interest rates at the time could also have weighed on volumes.

Chart 1: Resale volumes of HDB 5-room and executive flats by quarter from 2020

On the ABSD regime changes, the enhanced remission timeline extension framework for large-scale en bloc redevelopments will give developers a longer runway to sell units and should help to mitigate some development risks on large projects where sales naturally take longer. It was announced that large sites yielding 700 to under 1,400 residential units, and mega sites of 1,400 units or more, will have their completion and sale timelines extended to six and seven years respectively, up from 5.5 years - with mega sites required to sell at least half their units by the sixth year. To qualify for the extended completion and sale timelines, the number of residential units upon redevelopment is also required to be at least 1.5 times the number of residential units of the existing development.

Furthermore, large or mega sites that qualify for more than one category of the ABSD(HD) Remission Timeline Extension Framework for Complex Projects (see Annex I) will be provided an additional extension of six months to their remission timelines (see Annex II for remission timelines summary).

The ABSD remission timeline extensions could give developers more confidence to undertake larger and more ambitious projects. The regime change can also help to support the rejuvenation of ageing estates and the more intensive use of well-located land which, over time, benefits the wider market through fresh, well-sited homes. Over the years, several large developments - including Pine Grove and Braddell View - have sought collective sale without success. We think this latest announcement may encourage property owners at large projects to consider an en bloc sale once again, seeing that developers could be more willing to take on large-scale redevelopment projects in view of a longer sales timeline."

Note: For private homeowners who wish to purchase a subsidised HDB flat (i.e. a new flat from HDB with or without housing grants, or a resale flat with housing grants), an Executive Condominium unit from a property developer, or intend to obtain an HDB housing loan for their flat purchase, the existing requirement to wait out a period of 30 months after the disposal of their private residential property remains unchanged.

Annex I

ABSD(HD) Remission Timeline Extension Framework for Complex Projects

Implemented on 6 March 2025, the framework grants a 6-month extension to the ABSD(HD) remission timelines for complex large-scale projects that fall within any one of the following four categories, or a 12-month extension for projects that fall within more than one category.

Annex II

Current and Revised ABSD(HD) Remission Timelines for En Bloc Sites, by Number of Residential Units and Intensification Factor after Redevelopment