Buying a Resale Condo in 2026: From Shortlist to Keys, With Real Numbers
The whole process in plain terms: what to pay, what the bank will actually lend, and where buyers quietly lose money. Numbers first, viewings after.
If you've been browsing resale condo listings on the portals for a few weekends, you already know the hard part. It isn't finding units. It's knowing what to pay for the one you like.
Two units on the same stack can transact $80,000 apart within the same quarter. You agree on a price, then the bank valuation comes in lower, and the difference has to come out of your pocket in cash. The seller's agent mentions other offers on the table. Sometimes that's true. Sometimes it's Tuesday.
On top of that sits the financing maths. How much you can actually borrow under the 55% TDSR cap. Whether ABSD touches you. How much of the purchase can come from CPF and how much must be cash. Most buyers work this out properly only after they've fallen for a unit, which is the worst possible order to do things in.
This page walks you through how a resale condo purchase actually runs in 2026, from the first shortlist to collecting keys, and how I work with buyers through it. If you'd rather talk it through, the fastest way to reach me is WhatsApp.
How I work
What I Do as Your Buyer's Agent
My job is simple to say and harder to do: make sure you never overpay quietly.
Before you look at a single unit, we do the numbers. Your real budget under TDSR, the cash and CPF split, the stamp duties, and the monthly figure you'll actually live with. Then we shop inside that number, not above it.
When you find a unit you like, I pull the recent transactions for that development and that stack before anyone makes an offer. Asking prices are marketing. Transacted prices are the market. I negotiate off the second one.
I'm Viona, a CEA-registered salesperson R055553G with PropNex Realty Pte Ltd L3008022J. You can verify my registration on the CEA Public Register. 8+ years in the business, 150+ completed.
What you get
What You Get
CCR, RCR and OCR condo prices this quarter
A budget that survives the bank
In-principle approval sorted before viewings, so an offer from you means something.
A shortlist built on transactions, not listings
Recent caveats and transacted PSF for the developments you're considering, so you can see what buyers actually paid.
A valuation check before you offer
If the agreed price is likely to outrun the bank's valuation, you'll know the cash gap before you're committed, not after.
Negotiation handled by someone with nothing to prove
I've sat on both sides of these conversations. I know what the unit across the corridor sold for, and I say so at the right moment.
A timeline that fits your life
Lease ending, BTO key collection, school enrolment. The purchase is sequenced around your dates, not the other way round.
One person, start to finish
No call centre, no handover to a "closing team". You deal with me from first viewing to key collection.
Step by step
The Buying Process, Step by Step
A realistic resale condo purchase in Singapore runs about three to five months from first viewing to key collection. Here's where that time goes.
Step 1 — The numbers session (Week 0, before any viewing)
One sitting, about an hour. We work out your maximum loan under the 55% TDSR cap, your cash versus CPF split, buyer's stamp duty, and whether ABSD applies to your profile. You leave with one figure: the price ceiling you shop under. Try the sums yourself first on the mortgage affordability calculator and ABSD calculator, then I'll check them against your real numbers.
Step 2 — Shortlisting (Weeks 1–2)
We shortlist developments, not just units: district, tenure, age, maintenance fees, and the transacted PSF trend for the project. If you're set on being near an MRT station, that narrows the list fast and honestly, because you'll see exactly what the walk-to-MRT premium costs in each district. OCR resale condos still make up most of the sub-$1,800 psf options in 2026, so if that's your budget band, expect to be choosing between space and location. I'll tell you which trade-off I'd take and why.
Step 3 — Viewings (Weeks 2–6)
I arrange viewings around your schedule and go with you. We're checking the things listings don't show: facing and afternoon sun, noise, the state of the common areas, how the block is managed, and whether the "renovated" kitchen is renovation or furniture. Most buyers I work with view between 8 and 15 units before offering. Some know by unit three. Both are normal.
Step 4 — Before you offer: the valuation check
Before any number leaves your mouth, I pull the last six months of transactions for the development and check the likely bank valuation. If the seller wants above that, you'll know exactly how much of the gap would be cash out of pocket. This is the resale version of COV, and it catches buyers who skip this step every single month.
Step 5 — The Option to Purchase (the offer, in writing)
For resale private property, the mechanics are:
- You pay the seller an option fee, typically 1% of the agreed price, in exchange for the Option to Purchase (OTP).
- The seller cannot sell to anyone else while the OTP is live. You have 14 days to decide.
- To commit, you exercise the OTP by signing it and paying a further deposit. Option fee plus exercise fee usually total 5% of the price.
- If you walk away before exercising, the option fee is forfeited. That's the cost of changing your mind, and it's why Step 4 happens before Step 5.
Step 6 — After exercise (Weeks 1–2 after OTP)
Buyer's stamp duty is due within 14 days of exercising the OTP (your lawyer handles the filing). The bank finalises your loan against the valuation, and your conveyancing lawyer runs the title checks. I coordinate between your banker, lawyer and the seller's side so nothing sits in someone's inbox for a week.
Step 7 — Completion (8–12 weeks after exercise)
Completion is typically 8 to 12 weeks after the OTP is exercised. The balance of the price is paid, the title transfers, and you collect keys. Total time from offer to keys: usually around three months.
Shortlist homes with Viona
Buying an HDB flat instead? The rules are different: an HFE letter before anything else, a $1,000 option fee cap, and grants up to $230,000 for eligible first-timers. Read the resale HDB guide.
Straight answers
The Worries Everyone Has, Answered Straight
"How do I know the bank will lend me enough?"
Because we check before you shop, not after. TDSR caps your total monthly debt at 55% of gross income, and banks stress-test your loan at a 4% floor rate even if the actual rate is lower. An in-principle approval takes a few days and turns your offer from a maybe into a number a seller takes seriously.
"Should I wait for prices to fall?"
Honest answer: nobody knows, including me. The HDB resale price index dipped 0.1% in Q1 2026, the first quarterly fall since 2019, and private prices have been flattening in some districts. If you're buying a home you'll hold for ten years, the entry quarter matters far less than buying the right unit at a fair transacted price. If you're speculating on a two-year flip, remember SSD now runs four years at up to 16% for anything bought from 4 July 2025. I'll show you the data for the specific developments you're eyeing, and you can decide with your eyes open.
"Won't the seller's agent just push the price up on me?"
The seller's agent works for the seller. That's their job, and a good one does it well. In Singapore, one agent cannot represent both sides of the same transaction, so if you go in alone, you're the only person at the table whose job isn't to get the best price out of you. My job is the opposite: the best price for you, backed by the transaction evidence to argue it down.
"Can't I just buy through the listing agent and save on fees?"
The listing agent can't take commission from you; CEA rules forbid collecting from both sides. So you don't save money that way, you just go unrepresented. My fee as your buyer's agent is agreed in writing before we start, and in many purchases I'm co-brokering against the seller's agent's fee, which changes the maths again. Ask me and I'll walk you through exactly what applies to your situation before anything is signed.
"New launch or resale — which is better in 2026?"
Different products, not better and worse. New launch means progressive payments and a wait to TOP; resale means you see exactly what you're buying and can rent or move in within months. I've written out the full comparison here: new launch vs resale condo. If you're torn, tell me your timeline and I'll tell you which I'd pick in your shoes.
Proof
What Past Buyers Say
"Viona spotted that our shortlist development was facing en-bloc chatter that inflated asking prices. She negotiated our purchase down to actual bank-supported transaction levels."
"Finding a freehold 3-bedroom unit under $2M felt impossible until Viona mapped out historical caveats for us. We secured our home 4% below asking."
"Viona coordinated between our bank banker and conveyancing lawyer perfectly. We exercised the OTP and completed without a single delay."
More on the testimonials page.
R055553G
CEA-registered
PropNex
L3008022J
8+ years
In Singapore real estate
150+
Homes bought & sold
No obligation
Start With One Conversation
You don't need to be ready to buy to talk to me. Most of my buyers start three to nine months before they sign anything, and the early ones make the fewest expensive mistakes.
Tell me your budget band and the districts you're considering. I'll come back with what's actually transacting there, what your loan looks like, and whether your timeline makes sense. No obligation, and if the honest answer is "wait six months," I'll say that too.
Common questions
Resale Condo FAQs
With a 75% loan, you need at least 5% of the price in cash (the option and exercise deposits), plus buyer's stamp duty in cash first (CPF can reimburse). On a $1.5 million condo, that's roughly $75,000 in deposits plus about $44,600 in BSD. If the agreed price exceeds the bank valuation, the gap is also cash. ABSD, where it applies, is on top.
No. The option fee (typically 1% of the price) is forfeited if you don't exercise the OTP within its validity period, usually 14 days. It's the price of holding the unit off the market while you decide.
Your loan is capped at 75% of the lower of price or valuation, so the shortfall above valuation must be paid in cash. On a $1.5M purchase with a $1.45M valuation, that's an extra $50,000 cash. This is why I check likely valuation before you offer.
From first viewings to keys, typically three to five months. The OTP exercise window is 14 days, and completion follows 8 to 12 weeks after exercise.
It depends on the arrangement, agreed in writing before we start. Singapore rules forbid an agent from collecting commission from both buyer and seller in the same deal. Ask me upfront and I'll show you the exact figure for your purchase before you commit to anything.
Resale suits buyers who want certainty: you see the actual unit, move in within months, and pay a price tested against recent transactions. New launch suits buyers who can wait to TOP and want progressive payments. The full comparison is in my new launch vs resale guide.