Can I grant Options to two buyers to see who exercises first?

No. HDB's rules say you must wait for a granted Option to expire before granting another. Pick the buyer you are most confident in.

How long does the whole sale take?

From listing to completion, three to four months is a common range: a few weeks to find a buyer, three weeks of option period, then roughly eight weeks from resale application to completion. Slow markets or complex ownership add time.

What if I have not found my next home by completion?

Ask about a temporary extension of stay in the resale application. It needs the buyer's consent and has a maximum period set by HDB. We can help you time the sale and purchase so the gap is short.

The HDB resale timeline: from Intent to Sell to completion

Selling an HDB flat runs on HDB's clock as much as yours. Some steps have hard deadlines measured in days; others take weeks and cannot be rushed. This guide lays the whole sequence out so you can plan a move, line up your next home, and know which dates matter.

8 min read · Figures checked 16 September 2026 · By Michelle Lee Ling Ching, CEA R009798I

At a glance

Typical HDB resale timeline for a seller
Stage	Who acts	Typical timing
Register Intent to Sell	You, on the HDB Flat Portal	Day 0; wait 7 days before granting an Option
Photos, listing, viewings	We list; you host	2 to 8 weeks, market dependent
Grant Option to Purchase	You, with the buyer	On agreeing a price
Buyer submits Request for Value	Buyer	By the next working day after the Option date
Option period	Buyer decides	21 calendar days, expires 4pm
Buyer exercises the Option	Buyer	Within the option period
Resale application	Both parties on the Flat Portal	Within 7 calendar days of each other
HDB acceptance and approval	HDB	Approval about 2 weeks after documents are endorsed
Completion appointment	HDB, both parties	Commonly around 8 weeks after HDB accepts the application

Step 1: Register your Intent to Sell

Before anything else, log in to the HDB Flat Portal and register an Intent to Sell. HDB checks that you have met the Minimum Occupation Period, whether a resale levy applies, and the ethnic quota for your block. Once it is registered you must wait 7 calendar days before you can grant an Option to Purchase to a buyer. Use that week for photos and the listing so no time is wasted.

Step 2: Marketing and viewings

Under our package the flat goes onto PropertyGuru, 99.co, and SRX with professional photos and a written listing. Enquiries come to us; we screen them and agree viewing slots with you. You open the door and show the home. How long this stage takes depends on price, block, and the market. A realistic price in a normal market usually finds a buyer inside a few weeks; an ambitious one can sit for months.

Step 3: Offer and the Option to Purchase

When a buyer's offer is acceptable, you grant them an Option to Purchase on HDB's prescribed form. The buyer pays an option fee of between S$1 and S$1,000, agreed between you. That fee is theirs to lose if they walk away and forms part of the price if they proceed. Once you grant an Option you cannot grant another to a different buyer until this one expires, so do not sign until you are sure.

Step 4: The buyer's Request for Value

By the next working day after the Option date, the buyer submits a Request for Value to HDB and pays S$120. HDB decides whether to send a valuer. The resulting value, released on the Flat Portal, is what the buyer's loan and CPF usage are based on, and it stays valid for three months. If the value comes in below the agreed price, the difference is cash over valuation, which the buyer must pay in cash. Our guide on COV and valuation covers this in detail.

Step 5: The 21-day option period

The buyer has 21 calendar days from the Option date, weekends and public holidays included, to exercise the Option. It expires at 4pm on the last day. During this time the buyer confirms financing, usually with an HDB Flat Eligibility letter already in hand. To exercise, they sign the acceptance and pay the exercise fee. If they do not exercise, the Option lapses, you keep the option fee, and you are free to market the flat again.

Step 6: Resale application

After the Option is exercised, both you and the buyer submit your portions of the resale application on the HDB Flat Portal. HDB requires the two portions within 7 calendar days of each other; otherwise the application is cancelled and the administrative fee is not refunded. If HDB is acting as your solicitor, you also give your bank account details within 3 calendar days of submitting. We prepare and lodge your portion and chase the buyer's side so the window is not missed.

Step 7: HDB acceptance, endorsement, and approval

HDB reviews both portions, checks eligibility, and issues an acceptance. Both parties then endorse the resale documents online and make the required payments. HDB states that approval is granted about two weeks after the documents are endorsed and payments made. Somewhere in this window HDB schedules the completion appointment and notifies both sides by SMS.

Step 8: Completion

Completion is the day ownership transfers. Sellers commonly see it fall around eight weeks after HDB accepts the resale application, though HDB sets the actual date. Before the appointment you must have moved out, cleared service and conservancy charges, settled any upgrading costs, and terminated or transferred utilities. At completion the loan is discharged, your CPF is refunded, fees are paid, and the balance is released to you. Hand over the keys and it is done.

What can stretch the timeline

A buyer whose HDB Flat Eligibility letter or bank loan is not ready before the option period ends.
Missing documents for divorce, inheritance, or bankruptcy cases; these need court orders or consents.
A valuation well below the agreed price, which can send the buyer back to negotiate or walk away.
Extension of stay: if you need to stay past completion while waiting for your next flat, HDB allows a temporary extension with the buyer's agreement, arranged in the resale application.

Common questions

Sources

Written by

Michelle Lee Ling Ching

Michelle Lee Ling Ching · CEA R009798I · ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd · L3002382K

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