Honest answers, before we ever speak

Often not. For new launches, the developer pays the commission. For resale purchases, it depends on the arrangement: if I represent you as a buyer's agent, we agree any fee upfront and in writing before we start — no surprises. Many buyers pay nothing at all. It costs nothing to ask me how it would work for your situation.

This is the single most important sequencing decision in an upgrade, and there is no universal answer. Selling first gives you certainty over your budget and avoids paying Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) upfront, but you may need temporary housing. Buying first avoids the double move, but usually means paying ABSD and claiming the refund later (possible for married couples with a Singapore Citizen spouse, if you sell within six months). The right order depends on your cash position, risk appetite and timeline — this is exactly the conversation to have before doing anything else.

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty is a tax on top of the normal Buyer's Stamp Duty, based on who you are and how many residential properties you already own. Singapore Citizens pay nothing on their first home, 20% on a second; Permanent Residents start at 5%; foreigners pay 60%. The fastest way to see your number is my free stamp duty calculator — it shows the full workings.

Try the stamp duty calculator →

Usually much less than the headline figure — and it catches many sellers off guard. Your sale price first settles your outstanding loan, then refunds every dollar of CPF you used plus the interest it would have earned (this goes back to your CPF account, not your bank account), then covers commission and legal fees. My sale proceeds calculator shows the full waterfall, with cash and CPF separated.

Try the sale proceeds calculator →

For HDB flats, the Minimum Occupation Period is the time you must live in the flat before you can sell it or rent out the whole unit — five years for most flats, ten for Prime and Plus flats bought from HDB. It is counted from key collection, excluding periods you did not occupy the flat. If you are planning an upgrade, the MOP end date is usually the anchor the whole timeline is built around.

A realistically priced HDB flat typically finds a buyer within one to three months, and the resale completion process takes about eight weeks after that. Private property timelines vary more with the market. Be wary of anyone promising a specific speed — pricing, presentation and honest feedback along the way matter far more than promises.

Yes, with boundaries. Foreigners can freely buy private condominiums and apartments, but landed homes need government approval (except in Sentosa Cove), and HDB flats are generally not available. The bigger consideration is cost: foreigners pay 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty — though nationals of the USA, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are treated as Singapore Citizens under free trade agreements. I've written a full guide on this.

Read the foreigner's guide →

A fair question — and the honest answer is that the paperwork is the smallest part. What you're really engaging is judgement: pricing strategy grounded in actual transaction data, negotiation when the other side has an agent and you don't, sequencing a sale and purchase so you're never caught between homes, and someone to tell you when a deal is bad — including when the best advice is to wait. My background is eight years in corporate real estate; I bring the same discipline to your home.

Commission in Singapore is negotiable and agreed in writing before any work starts — typically a percentage of the transaction price, in line with market norms, and it varies with the scope of work involved. I'd rather tell you the exact figure for your specific situation than quote something vague here. Ask me directly; you'll get a straight answer.