Glossary
HDB resale terms, in plain English
The words that turn up in HDB forms, agent conversations and bank letters, each explained in a sentence or two, with a link to the guide that covers it properly.
- Accrued interest
- The interest your CPF savings would have earned had they stayed in your Ordinary Account instead of paying for the flat. When you sell, the CPF you used plus this interest goes back into your CPF account before you receive any cash. HDB seller costs explained.
- Cash over valuation(COV)
- The amount by which the agreed price exceeds the value HDB assigns to the flat. The buyer must pay it in cash; it cannot come from CPF or a housing loan. COV and HDB valuation.
- CEA registration number
- The number the Council for Estate Agencies issues to every licensed salesperson, in the form R123456A. You can check any agent on the CEA public register. About your agent.
- Co-broke
- An arrangement where the seller's agent shares commission with the buyer's agent. Common in private property sales. In HDB resale each side normally pays its own agent. HDB agent fees in Singapore.
- Completion
- The appointment at which ownership transfers, the loan is discharged and the sale proceeds are accounted for. CPF crediting takes processing time after completion. It commonly falls around eight weeks after HDB accepts the resale application. The HDB resale timeline.
- Enhanced Contra Facility(ECF)
- An HDB facility that lets you sell one HDB flat and buy another resale flat with both completing on the same day, so the sale proceeds and refunded CPF fund the purchase directly, subject to HDB approval and financing and legal conditions. Selling and buying at the same time.
- Estate agency agreement
- The prescribed CEA form you sign to appoint an estate agent. It states the fee, who pays it, whether the appointment is exclusive, and for how long. What the fixed fee covers.
- Ethnic Integration Policy(EIP)
- Quotas on the proportion of each ethnic group in an HDB block and neighbourhood. If the quota for a group is full, you can only sell to buyers who do not push it further over. The HDB resale timeline.
- Extension of stay
- An arrangement, agreed with the buyer and approved by HDB, for the seller to remain in the flat for up to three months after completion while waiting for the next home. Selling and buying at the same time.
- HDB Flat Eligibility letter(HFE letter)
- One letter from HDB stating whether you can buy a flat, which CPF housing grants you qualify for, and how large an HDB loan you can take. A buyer must hold a valid one before being granted an Option to Purchase. It is valid for nine months. CPF housing grants for resale buyers.
- Intent to Sell
- The registration a seller makes on the HDB Flat Portal before marketing a flat. HDB checks eligibility, and the seller must wait seven days before granting an Option to Purchase. The HDB resale timeline.
- Minimum Occupation Period(MOP)
- The period you must live in an HDB flat before you may sell it on the open market, usually five years for most flats. The HDB resale timeline.
- Option to Purchase(OTP)
- HDB's prescribed contract by which a seller gives one buyer the exclusive right to buy the flat at an agreed price. The buyer pays an option fee of S$1 to S$1,000 and has 21 calendar days to exercise it. The HDB resale timeline.
- Option fee and exercise fee
- The two deposits a buyer pays: the option fee when the OTP is granted and the exercise fee when it is exercised. Together they cannot exceed S$5,000, and both count toward the price. The HDB resale timeline.
- Owner-hosted viewing
- A viewing where the owner, not the agent, lets buyers in and shows the flat. It is how the Fairnest seller package keeps the fee fixed and low; the agent still screens enquiries and handles every offer. Owner-hosted viewing checklist.
- Request for Value
- The application a buyer using CPF savings or a housing loan makes to HDB, by the next working day after the Option date, to find out the value HDB assigns to the flat. It costs S$120 and the value is valid for three months. COV and HDB valuation.
- Resale levy
- A payment due when someone who has sold a subsidised flat buys a second subsidised flat or a new Executive Condominium. It does not apply when the next home is a resale flat or private property. HDB seller costs explained.
- Seller's Stamp Duty(SSD)
- A duty charged by IRAS on residential property sold within a set holding period after purchase. Most HDB sellers are past it because of the Minimum Occupation Period. HDB seller costs explained.
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