# 15-month wait-out period for private property owners to buy HDB resale flats removed: Chee Hong Tat

- **Source:** Channel NewsAsia
- **Published:** 2026-07-28T01:56:00.000Z
- **Author:** Matthew Mohan
- **Original:** https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/15-month-wait-out-period-removed-hdb-private-chee-hong-tat-6281891
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Private Residential, Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The change could increase demand from private-home downgraders, although expanding resale supply and recent price declines may moderate its impact on HDB prices.

## AI summary

Singapore removed the 15-month wait-out period immediately as HDB resale prices fell 0.1% in 1Q and 0.3% in 2Q.

## Original article

SINGAPORE: The 15-month wait-out period for people who sell their private properties to buy Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats will be removed with immediate effect, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced on Tuesday (Jul 28). Speaking at the 11th Singapore Economic Review Conference, Mr Chee said that authorities recognised that with the wait-out period, households with genuine housing needs faced inconvenience and disruption to their plans to switch from private properties to resale flats. “As market conditions have improved, we have assessed that the 15-month wait-out period has met its purpose and will be removed with immediate effect,” he said. The removal of the wait-out period means private residential property owners and former owners of such properties can now buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat without an HDB housing loan, said the Ministry of National Development (MND). The HDB resale market has shown signs of stabilisation. HDB resale prices have declined for two consecutive quarters since the start of the year – the resale price index fell 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, and 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. This follows five consecutive quarters of slower or no price growth from the last quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025. "This is further supported by a larger number of new flats completing their minimum occupation period (MOP) and entering the resale market over the next few years. The government has therefore assessed that the 15-month wait-out period can now be removed," said MND.

TEMPORARY MEASURE During the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of new Build-to-Order (BTO) flats was affected. At the same time, housing demand increased as societal trends shifted towards smaller household sizes. A low interest rate environment made it cheaper to service a housing loan, Mr Chee said. These factors led to an "imbalance in supply and demand" that caused resale prices to rise. HDB increased the supply of BTO flats, but supply took time to increase as the construction industry was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government introduced several property cooling measures during the pandemic, including the 15-month wait-out period in September 2022. The move was to moderate the demand for HDB resale flats and help prioritise access to HDB flats for Singaporeans with more urgent housing needs, such as first-time homebuyers. Authorities said then that it would be a temporary measure. Singaporeans aged 55 and above were exempted from the 15-month wait-out period if they moved from their private property to a four-room or smaller non-subsidised HDB resale flat. Since its introduction in 2022, HDB has processed about 1,800 appeals annually from private property owners to waive the 15-month wait-out period. This number has been “stable” over the last few years, with HDB acceding to about one in four appeals, the ministry said in a written parliamentary reply last year. This is mainly for households in financial difficulties or extenuating circumstances, who have no alternative housing options. MND said on Tuesday that for those with pending appeals, they no longer needed to wait for HDB's reply and can proceed to apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter directly. HDB will also be contacting these appellants directly. Private property owners will be required to sell their units – whether in Singapore or overseas – within six months from the completion of the HDB resale flat purchase. For private property owners who wish to buy a subsided HDB flat – a BTO flat with or without grants, or a resale flat with housing grants – or an executive condominium (EC) unit from a property developer, they will still need to wait for 30 months after the sale of their unit. This will also apply to those who intend to get an HDB loan for their flat purchase. Those who want to buy an HDB flat will have to get an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. For those with HFE applications that are being processed, HDB will automatically update their eligibility status, and no action is required. On Tuesday, Mr Chee reiterated that the government is looking to lower the eligibility age of 35 for singles to buy HDB flats.

The government believes in the importance of ensuring every generation of Singaporeans will continue to have access to affordable public housing, said Mr Chee in his speech. Failure to adequately address issues like housing affordability and widening wealth inequality has fuelled “deep social frustrations” in many other societies, feeding the rise of ultra right-wing politics and even xenophobia, said the minister. “Singapore must not go down this path. We have to stay open, we have to stay connected with the world, so that we can continue to grow our economy, improve the lives of our people by creating good jobs that can increase their real wages over time,” he added. “And we must also have an economy that can generate the fiscal resources to invest in important areas such as housing, education, healthcare, and also the ability to defend ourselves and develop our resilience against future shocks in this fast-changing world.”

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok

### 私人住宅业主购买HDB转售组屋的15个月等待期取消：徐芳达

HDB转售价格自年初以来已连续两个季度下跌。

新加坡：国家发展部长徐芳达星期二（7月28日）宣布，出售私人住宅后购买建屋发展局（HDB）转售组屋的15个月等待期即日起取消。徐芳达在第11届新加坡经济评论大会上表示，当局意识到在等待期下，有真正住房需求的家庭在从私人住宅转购转售组屋的计划上面临不便与干扰。“随着市场状况改善，我们评估15个月等待期已达到其目的，将即日起取消，”他说。国家发展部（MND）表示，取消等待期意味着私人住宅业主及前业主，现可在不使用HDB房屋贷款的情况下购买非补贴HDB转售组屋。HDB转售市场已出现趋稳迹象。HDB转售价格自年初以来连续两个季度下跌——转售价格指数第一季跌0.1%，第二季跌0.3%。此前，从2024年第四季至2025年第四季，已连续五个季度价格增速放缓或持平。“未来数年将有更多新组屋完成最低居住期（MOP）并进入转售市场，进一步提供支撑。因此政府评估现可取消15个月等待期，”国家发展部表示。

临时措施 冠病疫情期间，新预购组屋（BTO）的建造受到影响。与此同时，随着社会趋势转向更小家庭规模，住房需求上升。徐芳达说，低利率环境使偿还房贷更便宜。这些因素导致“供需失衡”，推高转售价格。HDB增加了BTO供应，但因建筑业仍在从疫情中恢复，供应增加需要时间。政府在疫情期间推出多项房地产降温措施，包括2022年9月的15个月等待期。此举旨在抑制HDB转售组屋需求，并优先让有更迫切住房需求的新加坡人（如首次购房者）获得组屋。当局当时表示这将是临时措施。年满55岁及以上的新加坡公民，若从私人住宅迁入四房式或更小的非补贴HDB转售组屋，可获豁免15个月等待期。自2022年推出以来，HDB每年处理约1,800宗私人住宅业主豁免15个月等待期的上诉。该数目过去几年“稳定”，HDB约批准四分之一上诉，部门在去年书面国会答复中表示。这主要针对有财务困难或特殊情况、且无其他住房选择的家庭。国家发展部星期二表示，有待处理上诉者无需再等待HDB答复，可直接申请HDB组屋资格（HFE）信。HDB也将直接联系这些上诉人。私人住宅业主须在HDB转售组屋购屋完成后六个月内出售其单位——无论位于新加坡或海外。希望购买有补贴HDB组屋——有或无津贴的BTO组屋，或有住房津贴的转售组屋——或向开发商购买执行共管公寓（EC）单位的私人住宅业主，仍须在出售单位后等待30个月。打算使用HDB贷款购屋者亦适用此规定。想购买HDB组屋者须取得HDB组屋资格（HFE）信。HFE申请处理中的人士，HDB将自动更新其资格状态，无需采取任何行动。星期二，徐芳达重申，政府正考虑降低单身者购买HDB组屋的35岁资格年龄。

徐芳达在演讲中表示，政府认为确保每一代新加坡人都能继续获得可负担公共住房十分重要。未能充分应对住房可负担性与财富差距扩大等问题，在许多其他社会中已引发“深刻的社会不满”，助长极右翼政治甚至排外情绪，部长说。“新加坡绝不能走上这条路。我们必须保持开放，必须与世界保持联系，才能继续发展经济，通过创造能随时间提高实际工资的好工作来改善人民生活，”他补充道。“我们也必须拥有能够产生财政资源的经济，以便投资于住房、教育、医疗等重要领域，并具备保卫自己、在这个快速变化的世界中发展应对未来冲击的韧性的能力。”