Are you considering selling your Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat? If so, you should know the right strategies to sell your HDB flat quickly and for a reasonable price.
There are things you’ll need to know before you start the process of selling your HDB. This includes how to market your home to the right buyers when to sell your home and the procedures that ensure a smooth sales process.
When selling your flat, you’ll need to start by filing an intent to sell via the HDB resale portal on their website.
Once you’ve done this, you can now view your eligibility, the EIP/SPR quota for the flat, and things like upgrading and how much it will cost as well as prices of recently sold flats nearby.
Selling your HDB is straightforward but time-consuming, so having the correct information can make the process much easier.
You can use the HDB resources available and sell your flat yourself, or you can engage a property agent to do most of the work, so you have more time to focus on other things. Whether you sell it yourself or use an agent, you’ll need to know some key strategies to help your flat sell.
1. Know The Right Time To Sell
It’s essential to keep track of the current market to know when you should sell your HDB flat. The first thing to consider is if you’ve met the minimum occupation period (MOP).
This is a minimum of 5 years of occupation in the flat to qualify for resale. Many people feel they must immediately sell their flat once they’ve met the MOP but is this necessarily the right thing to do?
To find out if you’ll get the price you’d hope for your flat, take a look at current resale prices for homes in your area. This can give you a good idea if it’s the right time for you to sell or if you should consider waiting.
If your main goal for selling your flat is to upgrade your home, it’s important to ensure you’re getting the best possible amount for your property.
If you keep a close eye on recent sales transactions in your neighbourhood, you can see if similar homes to yours are in demand right now. Using your resources and analysing the market allows you to appropriately price your home and get the best possible price.
Quick tip: An easy way to check recent sales transactions in your neighbourhood is by using their website’s HDB map services page.
2. Marketing
To make selling your property faster and easier, you should develop a marketing plan. There are multiple options for marketing your flat for resale. In order to pick the best option, you’ll need to research each one and review how much it will cost you.
A few available resources for marketing your HDB flat include;
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Social media – With most people having quick, easy access to the internet, social media can be an excellent place for marketing your flat for resale.
You can use many social media platforms like Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, and Youtube that can help you show off your flat and gain potential buyers.
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Newspaper classifieds – While around 80% of people in Singapore receive their news through the internet, there are still tons of people who purchase newspapers.
Buying an ad in the classifieds can allow you to reach an audience you may not be able to through the internet. The cost of buying an ad in the classifieds can vary between S$5 to S$100 per line depending on the publication, geographic area, time of year, and the number of ads you buy.
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Online Property Portals – This is probably one of the best ways to market your property online. Using property portals, you can easily list your house for sale and keep in contact with potential buyers. There are plenty of property portals available, and some offer free listing services.
The cost of listing through property portals depends on which one you use and the services you request. Some property portals can advertise for you, communicate with buyers, set up viewings, and negotiate prices.
Once you know how you want to promote, you should set up your flat and take pictures to use in the listing. You can hire professionals that can help make your flat more attractive to buyers, or DIY, which can help you save money and time.
Quick tip: Make sure to include all essential information in your listing and add extras like amenities available, proximity to schools and MRT stations, and the condition of the flat in terms of renovations or upkeep.
3. Hire A Property Consultant
A property consultant is someone who can provide property investment advice based on careful analysis of the current market and trends.
They can provide you with helpful advice on your finances, the cost involved in a property resale, and whether it’s the ideal time to sell your flat. If you’re unsure when the right time to sell your property is, it may be useful to hire a property consultant.
Getting help from a property consultant has several benefits, some of which are below.
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You will get expert advice on coming up with a strategic plan on what to do.
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They can handle the communication between prospective buyers. This can help save you time to focus on things like work, family, and yourself.
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You will receive a plan for a marketing strategy to help you find the right buyer for the property.
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Property consultants give in-depth reviews of your property and advise if you need to bring up the value with enhancements.
Hiring a property consultant is your choice and should only be done if you feel comfortable letting someone else take care of most of the resale process. If you want to sell your property yourself, be sure to do extensive research and take the proper steps.
It may be more helpful for you to hire a professional who has experience will property resale if you don’t know anything about the process or property market. Be aware that there is a commission split: 1% plus GST for the agent representing buyers and 2%-3.5% range for the agent representing the seller.
4. Have A Plan
Selling your HDB flat can go faster than you think, so it’s important you already have a plan in place for where you’re going to live next. Before deciding to sell your flat, you should consider a few things like –
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Funds For a New Home – What will happen when you sell your home? Will you have enough funds to purchase a new home? You have to be sure to get your finances in order before you decide to sell your home. You can do this by either talking to a professional or taking time to analyse your current financial situation in-depth.
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Extension of Stay – It may take a while to find a new home for yourself. If you need extra time, it’s advised to inform the buyers of the HDB flat of your extension of stay when you discuss the price of the house.
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Ask For Help – It’s easy to get help if you need assistance finding your next home. You can engage a real estate agent or a property consultant to help you understand your finances better and give you advice on how to find a new home.
Be proactive, so you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to live next. It’s essential to take time and devise a plan for your next move.
5. Negotiate
It can be challenging to negotiate the price when buying or selling a house. There are a few things you should be sure to talk about when negotiating prices with a potential buyer.
Having a proper conversation can help ensure a price you feel good about. Make sure to talk about the following topics when you have a conversation with a potential buyer.
Renovations
If you know your home needs work before selling it, you can get quotes to see if it’s worth renovating or not. When you’ve had renovations or improvements to the property, it’s good to mention that to buyers, so they know they’re getting a good quality flat. Mentioning these during negotiations can improve your chances of settling on a higher price.
Problems With the Property
Knowing buyers will ask about certain things can help you prepare your responses. There are some common questions buyers ask like:
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Amenities
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Maintenance Issues
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The direction the unit faces.
If you prepare yourself for these questions, you will inspire trust, which means they are less likely to try to negotiate for a lower price. You may also want to look at your property and have any issues identified.
This way, you can make sure to either fix them or disclose them to the buyer, so they know they are responsible for them after purchase.
Discuss Pricing of Nearby Flats
Know your worth. Having a high asking price is likely to get you a lot fewer potential buyers. However, having an asking price below what the house is worth can make you lose money. You should research homes being sold in your area to be sure you’re listing your house for what it’s worth.
Quick tip: Offer kind remarks after the negotiation ends. This can help the buyers feel good about whatever offer was last discussed. They may then be more inclined to settle for a higher price.
6. The Financials
You will need to keep a few things in mind, such as cost and sales proceeds, when you decide to sell your home. There are multiple fees and hidden costs you may not have known about that can lower the amount of sales proceeds you get after selling.
Expected sales proceeds
In order to compute your estimated sales proceeds, you need to calculate the following:
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Any outstanding balance on your mortgage loan.
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Deposit received from your buyer.
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Any amounts payable, like renovations.
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Brokerage fee to your Marketing Agent
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Conveyancing Fees
Know these amounts and keep records of them so you can estimate how much money you’ll end up with when you settle on a price. If you know what home you plan to buy after you sell your flat, you should try to keep within a budget to maintain a certain level of sale proceeds.
Costs and Fees
There are a few things to keep in mind when selling your HDB. That is what costs and fees you’ll have while selling the property.
Each cost can vary so you should try to keep these in mind when selling the property so you have an idea of what you’ll end up paying and keeping.
7. Understand Resale Procedures
When selling your HDB flat, certain procedures need to be done to continue the sale. This includes:
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Registering your intent to sell – When you decide you’re going to sell your property, you need to register this intention with the HDB. This application allows the HDB to determine if you’re eligible to immediately sell or not.
They will send you information about the Ethnic Integration Policy/Singapore Residents quota for your block as well as necessary upgrades, cost of upgrades, and recent transacted prices in your area.
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7 Day cooling-off period after registering – Once you register, there will be a necessary 7-day cooling-off period before you’re able to grant a buyer an OTP.
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Grant an OTP to buyers – Once you’ve found someone to buy your flat at an agreed price, you’ll need to give them an OTP. After this, they will pay you an option fee of no more than S$1,000.
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21 day option period – After you grant an OTP, your buyer will have a 21 day period where they can decide whether they want to proceed with the purchase or not. During the 21 days, the buyer needs to request for valuation with HDB if they are taking a loan or using CPF. They will then need to get a bank’s letter of offer, among other requirements, before deciding whether to proceed.
If they choose not to go through with the purchase, they automatically forfeit the option fee paid earlier. If your buyer decides to continue, they will pay you an option exercise fee of no more than $5,000 including the initial option fee. This is within your rights as a seller.
It’s essential to follow the necessary procedure to go through with selling your flat smoothly and efficiently. If you need help, you can use the resources available on the HDB website, or you can ask a professional such as a real estate agent or a property consultant.
Final Thoughts
Selling your HDB flat can be exciting and is pretty straightforward, but it can also be frustrating. If you want to get the best out of your selling experience, be sure to do extensive research and use the resources available to you.
If you plan on doing it yourself or getting help from a professional, you should try to be as involved in the process as you’re able to. It’s essential to plan and prepare, so you don’t deal with something you don’t know how to handle.
Should you need further advice on choosing the right home for your family, feel free to get in touch with the PropertyLimBrothers team, and we will always be happy to help.
If you have enjoyed this piece, we think you might also be interested in checking out this article: 5 Things You Must Know Before You Decide To Sell Your Home, to better understand how to make the resale process easy and efficient.
P.S. This article is written in conjunction with our #InvestorsSeries on Youtube. We drop nuggets of wisdom for you to learn more about Singapore’s property market! From frequently asked questions to market analysis, we will take you through them all with the PropertyLimBrothers team.
