Fiscus Finance editorial · Reviewed 26 October 2026. General education, not a personal financial recommendation.
Featured photograph: © ProjectManhattan / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0. Original photograph and creator · CC BY-SA 3.0 licence. Resized and compressed, not cropped; the adapted photograph remains under that licence. An HDB block in Singapore photographed in 2014; not a current listing or a valuation example.
A headline about HDB resale sentiment cannot tell you what a particular flat is worth. Start with comparable completed transactions, write down their limitations, and check your own cash and financing position before making a decision.
Start with the official transaction record
HDB publishes resale flat prices on data.gov.sg. The dataset is based on registration date and includes transaction month, town, flat type, block, street, storey range, floor area, flat model, lease commencement, remaining lease and resale price.[11]
HDB describes the prices as indicative because agreed prices depend on many factors. It excludes transactions that may not reflect full market prices, including some resales between relatives and part-share transactions. Its floor-area note also explains that the approximate area can include purchased recess space and certain upgrading additions.[11]
Use the dataset as evidence of recorded transactions, not as an asking-price list or an automatic valuation of the home you are viewing.
Build a comparison sheet you can explain
This is an editorial working method, not an official valuation model:
- Define the subject flat. Record its block, type, size, storey, remaining lease and your viewing observations.
- Choose a consistent search window. For example, start with recent months in nearby blocks. The period is your research choice, not a rule. If you expand the area or dates, note why.
- List similarities and differences. Keep the records closest in flat type, size, storey and lease visible. Do not quietly discard inconvenient comparisons.
- Separate facts from judgement. A recorded price is a fact about that transaction. Your view that a layout or renovation deserves a premium is a judgement requiring separate support.
- Record the gaps. If there are few usable comparisons, say “limited evidence” instead of presenting a precise price target.
A whole-town average can mix very different homes. A price per square metre is useful for organising records but does not automatically adjust for lease, floor, condition or location. Do not mistake a tidier spreadsheet for a formal valuation.
Example: a lower total price is not always a cheaper comparison
Hypothetical transactions, not actual HDB records: Flat A sold for S$600,000 and has an area of 100 square metres. Flat B sold for S$570,000 and has an area of 90 square metres.
- Flat A: S$600,000 ÷ 100 = S$6,000 per square metre.
- Flat B: S$570,000 ÷ 90 = approximately S$6,333.33 per square metre.
Flat B has a lower total price but a higher price per square metre. Neither calculation tells you which is the better home or better value. You still need to consider lease, storey, condition, location and household needs; the example deliberately makes no price adjustment for those differences.
For buyers: add the cash test
Comparables help you question a price; they do not confirm HDB’s eventual valuation. CPF Board explains that valuation is obtained after buyer and seller agree on the price, and that the price above valuation must be paid in cash rather than CPF savings.[1]
Before proceeding, test a lower valuation and a lower approved loan than you hope for. Keep renovation, transaction costs and your chosen reserve outside the amount available for the purchase price. Our HDB COV cash-budget guide walks through a worked example without assuming a valuation outcome.
For sellers: ask how an estimate was reached
When discussing a possible asking price with a property professional, ask which transactions were used, what material differences remain, and how much uncertainty there is. Keep your target price separate from a sale agreement and from the amount you would actually have available after completion.
An indicative home estimate is not a formal valuation or a guaranteed selling price. Fiscus Finance provides educational information; this article does not claim that Fiscus itself is a licensed valuer or financial adviser.
Do not turn a comparison into a market forecast
This method does not establish that prices are about to rise or fall, explain why a particular quarter moved, or predict investment returns. A household decision should still work if a hoped-for resale price or financing outcome does not materialise.
Your next step: prepare the sale plan
If you are considering selling, use our Singapore home-selling planning guide to organise eligibility, timing and proceeds questions. You can read it without submitting contact details. Buyers can use the home-buying preparation guide instead.
Sources checked
Rules and individual eligibility can change. Confirm your own figures with the relevant authority and lender. Editorial standards and limitations.
