You’ve decided that you want to buy a resale flat. Your first instinct is likely to search up PropertyGuru and to find your dream home – but hold your horses. Before you start your search and enquiring on shortlisted listings, there are a couple of other steps you need to take first!
P.S. if you’re looking to sell a HDB before buying one, you might want to read our full guide to selling a HDB first instead as you would almost always want to sell first before buying.
Buying a resale flat in 2026 involves 8 clear stages, from getting your eligibility letter to collecting your keys. From start to finish, most buyers should plan for 3 to 6 months: roughly a month for your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter, however long it takes you to find the right flat, and then about 8 to 12 weeks once you’ve secured an Option to Purchase. Here’s the full timeline at a glance:
| Stage | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Get your HFE letter | Confirm your eligibility, loan amount, and grants | ~1 month |
| 2. Sort out financing & budget | HDB or bank loan, CPF, stamp duty, cash on hand | Alongside Stage 1 |
| 3. Search & view flats | Find a flat on the HDB Flat Portal | 2 weeks to a few months |
| 4. Get the Option to Purchase (OTP) | Seller grants you the OTP; you pay the Option Fee | 1 day |
| 5. Request for Value & exercise the OTP | Get HDB’s valuation, then commit | Within the 21-day option period |
| 6. Submit the resale application | Both you and the seller apply on the portal | Within 7 days of each other |
| 7. HDB approval & document endorsement | HDB accepts, you endorse documents and pay fees | ~8 weeks |
| 8. Completion & key collection | Final appointment, balance paid, keys handed over | On completion day |
That’s the bird’s-eye view. Now let’s walk through each stage so you know exactly what happens and the action(s) required on your end.
Before you do anything else, apply for your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter through the HDB Flat Portal. The HFE letter is the single document that tells you three things you need before you start shopping: whether you’re eligible to buy a resale flat, how big an HDB housing loan you qualify for, and how much in CPF housing grants you can receive.
If you bought before 2023 and remember the old HLE letter (HDB Loan Eligibility), the HFE letter has replaced it. It’s a more complete, one-stop assessment of both your eligibility and your financing.
Two things worth knowing upfront:
Your HFE letter tells you what you can borrow. This step is about deciding how you’ll actually pay.
There are five pieces to get straight: your loan, your CPF, your stamp duty, your cash, and (for some buyers) whether a resale levy applies.
You have two financing routes, and you can only pick one.
An HDB concessionary loan charges 2.6% per annum (for January to March 2026) and lets you borrow up to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower. The rate is pegged at 0.1% above the CPF Ordinary Account rate and has barely moved in over a decade, so it’s predictable.
A bank loan also caps out at 75% loan-to-value, but the rate floats with the market. In 2026, bank rates for HDB flats have dipped below 2%, which makes them cheaper than the HDB loan on paper right now. The trade-off: bank rates can rise, and once you switch from an HDB loan to a bank loan, you can’t switch back.
Either way, you’ll need to cover a 25% downpayment, which can come from your CPF or be paid in cash.