The 15-month wait-out is gone: what private owners can (and still cannot) do from today

Since September 2022, anyone selling a private property had to wait 15 months before buying a HDB resale flat — a cooling measure that forced many rightsizing families into rentals or limbo. On 28 July 2026, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced that the wait-out period is removed with immediate effect.

This is the most consequential policy change for movers between private and public housing in four years. Here is the essence — and, just as importantly, where it does not apply.

The key essence

If you own (or previously owned) a private property, you can now buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat immediately — no wait, no appeal, any flat size, at any age. The previous carve-out for those aged 55 and above buying four-room or smaller flats is now everyone's rule.

The government's reasoning: the measure was always temporary, and it has done its job. HDB resale prices fell 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 0.3% in the second — the first back-to-back declines in years, after five quarters of slowing growth before that.

Where it does NOT apply — read this part carefully

The removal covers one specific path: a resale flat, bought without grants and without a HDB housing loan. Everything touching public subsidy keeps its rules:

• Buying subsidised housing? Still a 30-month wait. A Build-to-Order (BTO) flat — with or without grants — a resale flat bought with CPF housing grants, or a new executive condominium from a developer all still require you to have sold your private property at least 30 months earlier.
• Want a HDB housing loan? Still a 30-month wait. The immediate path assumes bank financing or no loan. If you need HDB's loan, the 30-month rule applies.
• You must sell your private property within 6 months of completing the resale flat purchase — and this includes property held overseas. The rule change removes the wait before buying; it does not let you keep both homes.
• The HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter is still required before you buy. If you had a waiver appeal pending, you no longer need to wait for a reply — apply for the HFE letter directly (HDB is contacting appellants). Existing HFE applications will be updated automatically.

In short: the door to the open resale market is now open to private owners — the door to subsidised housing keeps its 30-month buffer, deliberately.

Why the government moved now

Beyond softening prices, a large supply wave is coming: flats reaching their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) — the point at which owners may sell — are estimated to grow from 8,000 in 2025 to 13,500 this year, 15,000 in 2027 and 19,500 in 2028. More sellable flats means the market can absorb returning private-owner demand without overheating. That supply cushion is precisely why analysts across the major agencies expect more activity — especially in five-room and larger flats, where private-owner purchases had visibly thinned under the old rule — but not a price spike.

Insights — what this means for you

• Rightsizing from a private property? This is your change. The awkward gap — sell, rent for 15 months, then buy — is gone. You can now line up the sale and the purchase back to back. The sums still decide everything: my sale proceeds calculator shows what your private sale actually frees up, and remember the 6-month deadline runs from completion of your flat purchase, so sequence carefully.
• Selling a large or central resale flat? Your buyer pool just grew. Five-room and executive flat purchases by private owners fell noticeably after 2022; that demand can now return, and it tends to concentrate on exactly the spacious, well-located flats this rule had fenced off. A sensible moment to have your flat valued.
• A first-time or HDB-to-HDB buyer? Expect a little more competition for bigger resale flats — but the government's own supply projections are the counterweight, and the subsidised routes (BTO, grants) remain shielded by the 30-month rule. Your priority lane still exists.
• Reading the tea leaves on policy? This is a signal that the government considers the resale market stable — cooling measures get removed when they have worked, not before. The other curbs (loan limits, stamp duties) remain untouched, so this is normalisation, not stimulus.

Rule changes like this reward people who understand the sequencing — what to sell when, which financing path keeps which doors open. If you are weighing a move between private and public housing and want the timeline mapped out for your situation, I am happy to walk through it with you. No obligation at all.

Announcement details from CNA (original article), with conditions from HDB's official notice and supply figures via EdgeProp; market context from SCMP.