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Sell, buy, or both — timing, sale proceeds, profit or loss, transition costs, and a visual roadmap for the move.
Example figures, change to yours. The numbers below are a made-up household to show how the planner works. Replace them with your own before you rely on any result.
What you're selling
Shortfall: this property is a stretch right now
Sell 4-room HDBBuy condo
Your income, after other debts, caps the loan below the usual limit once it's tested at 4%. Your CPF and cash don't cover the bigger downpayment that leaves.
Things worth knowing
Sell first or buy first?
Your plan vs. the alternatives
Best case leaves you $214,132 short — $36,552 better than your plan. Here's how to get there:
- 1Sell at the top of your street's range — $672,000−$32,000We assumed 5% above your estimate because you haven't searched your street yet. Type your street name in the Selling section to set this from real transactions.
- 2Trim transition costs by 10%−$5,250Get at least three itemised renovation quotes, buy only the furniture you need on day one, move on a weekday, and line up your completion dates to shorten any rental gap.
- 3Bonus: negotiate agent commission down to 1.5%−$3,488Commission is negotiable. Many straightforward HDB sales go below 2%, and some sellers skip an agent entirely and use only a conveyancing lawyer. (Not included in the figure above — it's on top.)
Each figure is what's left over — or how much you're short — once your CPF, savings and sale proceeds have covered every cost of the move. Tap any card to see what drives it and what you can do about it.
Can you do this now?
What the sale releases
Age and grant rules that apply to you
Could you buy it outright, with no loan?
- Cash from the sale$253,358
- Your other savings$60,000
- CPF you could put in$210,190
- Available$523,548
- Price, duties and moving costs$2,053,100
- Short by$1,529,552
Paying with CPF isn't free money. Whatever you take from your CPF goes back in when you sell, with the interest it would have earned — so using CPF now means a smaller cash cheque later. Paying cash and leaving CPF alone keeps your retirement savings growing at CPF's interest rate.
If you can pay outright but it empties you, don't. Keep six months of expenses and your renovation budget in cash; a small loan you can repay early is cheaper than a personal loan at 6% when the boiler goes.
What the next place costs
Due early, before any sale money arrives. The option fee is paid in cash when you get the option (usually 1% of the price for a private home, up to $1,000 for an HDB resale flat). Buyer's Stamp Duty ($66,600) must be paid within 14 days of exercising the option. You can use cash or CPF for stamp duty, but CPF takes time to release, so arrange it early or have the cash ready.
HDB, condo or landed: what your sale buys
Selling first, with $260,858 cash and $210,190 CPF to put in after moving costs, and no ABSD. Prices are typical recent sales (HDB and URA records). Tap "Plan with this" to load one into the planner and adjust it.
| 5-room HDBResale in Tampines | Condo3-bedroom, OCR | LandedTerrace, OCR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price | $819,000 | $1,940,000 | $2,600,000 |
| Monthly instalment | $2,959 23% of income | $6,339 49% of income | $6,339 49% of income |
| Debt limit | MSR 23% of 30% | TDSR 49% of 55% | TDSR 49% of 55% |
| After everything | $16,930 short | $250,684 short | $943,684 short |
| To make it work | +$16,930 cash or CPF | +$1,700/mo income, +$84,552 cash or CPF | +$6,700/mo income, +$282,552 cash or CPF |
None of these works with your current figures yet. The table shows what each one would take.
Landed costs about $660,000 more than a typical condo here, and $0 more a month on the loan: $0 over 10 years, before landed upkeep and the condo's maintenance fees.
To make landed work, you'd need about $6,700 more household income a month (to pass the 55% debt limit) and $282,552 more in cash or CPF, or a cheaper landed home.
- Lowest cost, and an HDB loan if you qualify (no TDSR, 30% MSR).
- Lease runs down: buyers' CPF use and loans shrink once under 60 years left.
- A new 5-year MOP starts again.
- Maintenance fees, often $300 to $600 a month, for pool, gym and security.
- Most suburban condos are 99-year leasehold.
- Bank loan only, 55% TDSR. At least 5% of the price in cash, or 25% if you still owe on another home loan.
- Your own land, and mostly freehold, so value doesn't run down with a lease.
- You pay all upkeep: roof, facade, gates, pests. Higher property tax, no shared facilities.
- Singapore Citizens only, unless approved.
This compares what each costs and whether you can afford it. Past prices don't promise future ones, so it doesn't tell you which will be worth more. Ask the planner below about your situation, and check big decisions with a licensed financial adviser.