Selling Your Condo in 2026: The Whole Process, With Real Numbers
From valuation to completion, with the SSD clock worked out first. If selling would cost you money, you'll know before you list — not after.
The number first
What your condo is worth right now
Every condo seller carries two numbers in their head. The one the unit downstairs listed at, and the one they hope to beat. Neither is your price.
Your price comes from two places. The first is transacted data: caveats for your development and the rival projects nearby, adjusted for floor, facing, renovation and remaining lease. The second is your live competition: every other unit for sale in your condo right now. A buyer choosing between your unit and a similar one two stacks away pays the lower of the two. That's not negotiating tactics. It's just how shortlists work.
There's a third constraint sellers forget. The buyer's bank values your unit off the same transacted data. Price above what the bank will support and every buyer has to cover the gap in cash, which quietly removes most of your pool.
When I value a condo, you get the comparable sales in writing, a read of the units currently on the market in your project, and three figures you approve before anything is advertised: the asking price, the expected selling range, and the walk-away floor.
What moves a condo valuation
- Stack and floor. Height and facing shift value within the same development. Afternoon sun costs money in Singapore.
- Renovation. A genuinely renovated unit sells faster, but buyers rarely repay renovation dollar for dollar.
- Remaining lease. On leasehold projects, a shorter lease starts to weigh on bank valuations and CPF usage.
- Maintenance fees. Fees that are high for the facilities on offer push budget buyers to the project next door.
- En-bloc chatter. It helps at the right stage and hurts right after a failed attempt has repriced the whole development.
Step by step
The selling process, step by step
From decision to completion, a typical condo sale in 2026 runs three to five months. Here's where that time goes.
Step 1 — Valuation and pricing (Week 0–1)
I visit, look at what the photos will see, and pull the last six months of transactions for your development and the rivals nearby. We settle the three figures in writing before anything is advertised. Two checks happen here, before pricing: your SSD position, because one wrong date can cost five figures (more below), and your estimated CPF refund, so you know your real net proceeds before you commit.
Step 2 — Preparation (Week 1–2)
Professional photography, a floor plan, and listing copy you approve before it goes live. If the unit is tenanted, this is when we plan around the lease: sell with the tenancy running, or time the notice period so you hand over with vacant possession.
Step 3 — Marketing (Week 2 onwards)
Your unit goes on PropertyGuru, 99.co and the PropNex network, which reaches buyers the portals alone don't: co-broke agents whose clients are already looking in your district. If a rival unit in your development lists at a number that changes your position, you'll hear it in the weekly update, not at month three.
Step 4 — Viewings (usually Weeks 2–6)
I run viewings around your routine, evenings and weekends, and I'm there for every one. A well-priced unit should see steady traffic in the first fortnight. If traffic is thin, you get the portal numbers and the options in writing, with the data behind them.
Step 5 — Offers and the Option to Purchase
When an offer comes in, you hear the full picture: the price, the buyer's loan status, their timeline, any conditions. Nothing is accepted without your explicit say.
Once you accept, you grant the buyer an Option to Purchase. The mechanics for private property:
- The buyer pays an option fee, typically 1% of the price, for the OTP. You cannot sell to anyone else while it's live.
- The buyer has 14 days to exercise, signing the OTP and paying a further deposit. Option and exercise fees usually total 5% of the price.
- If the buyer walks away before exercising, the option fee is forfeited to you.
No HFE letter, no HDB portal. Private treaty is simpler than the HDB process, and the deadlines still bite.
Step 6 — Completion (8–12 weeks after exercise)
Your lawyer handles the conveyancing, the buyer's loan disburses, the balance of the price is paid and the title transfers. Completion is typically 8 to 12 weeks after the OTP is exercised. The proceeds land after your CPF refund is settled.
SSD, CPF, commission
The money nobody warns you about
The sale price is not what lands in your bank account. Three things come out of it, and one of them depends entirely on a date.
SSD: the date that decides what selling costs
Seller's Stamp Duty applies if you sell inside the holding window. For anything bought on or after 4 July 2025, the window is four years, at 16%, 12%, 8% and 4%. Bought between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025, you're on the older three-year schedule. SSD is charged on the higher of the selling price or the market value, payable within 14 days of the sale contract. Profit is irrelevant. You can sell at a loss and still owe it.
Source: IRAS Seller's Stamp Duty schedule & MAS media release, 3 Jul 2025 · Checked 17 Jul 2026
| Bought 11 Mar 2017 – 3 Jul 20253-year window | Bought on or after 4 Jul 20254-year window | |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 12% | 16% |
| 1–2 years | 8% | 12% |
| 2–3 years | 4% | 8% |
| 3–4 years | No SSD | 4% |
| Over 4 years | No SSD | No SSD |
| What it means | If your purchase sits inside either window, the exact week you sell can be worth tens of thousands. We check your dates before you list, not after. | |
Swipe to see the full table →
A worked example. Say you bought at $1,600,000 on 15 August 2025 and you're selling at $1,700,000. Grant the option in July 2026, about 11 months in: SSD is 16%, or $272,000. The same sale three months later, past the one-year mark: 12%, or $204,000. Hold past 15 August 2029 and it's nothing. Same unit, same seller. The calendar was worth $68,000.
SSD Calculator
Enter your purchase date and expected sale price. It works out your rate and the exact date the duty drops away. Free, instant, no sign-up.
Stamp duty & feesSeller's Stamp Duty, explained with worked examples
CPF refund with accrued interest
Every dollar of CPF you used on the unit, plus the interest it would have earned, goes back into your CPF accounts from the proceeds before you see cash. On an upgrade this is usually the biggest single deduction, and the reason "sold for $1.7 million" doesn't mean "$1.7 million in the bank." The full worked example is here: CPF refund and accrued interest, explained.
Commission
The market norm for selling a condo is 1–2% of the sale price. What that covers, and how agents at 1%, 1.5% and 2% actually differ, is laid out in my commission guide. My own rate is 1–2%, agreed in writing before we start, and it doesn't change mid-sale.
Legal fees
Your conveyancing lawyer bills separately from the commission. Get the quote before you list, so the net-proceeds figure we build is the real one.
Upgrading?
Selling to buy again?
Then the sale is only half the job. The other half is a clock.
Married couples buying their second residential property can get the ABSD remission, but only if the first property is sold within six months of the second purchase. Miss the window and the remission is gone. On a $1.8 million purchase, that's $360,000 of ABSD you don't get back. That clock has burned more upgraders than any other rule in Singapore property.
Cash needed upfront
Risk
Most condo upgraders should sell first unless they can carry two properties comfortably through the six-month window.
The full remission rules are in the ABSD remission guide, and the ABSD calculator shows what a second purchase costs you at today's rates.
The honest comparison
Can you sell a condo without an agent?
Yes. Private treaty is simpler than the HDB process, and the portals take direct listings. Some owners do it well, especially investors who have sold before.
Where DIY sellers most often lose money isn't the commission maths. It's pricing off asking prices instead of transactions, and negotiating against themselves when an experienced buyer's agent pushes. On a $1.5 million condo, a 3% pricing error is $45,000. That's several years of commission, spent in one afternoon.
I've written the honest version of the comparison here: selling without an agent. It's framed around HDB flats, but the pricing and negotiation sections apply to condos line for line. If you read it and still want to go direct, the valuation here is free either way.
And if every agent you've spoken to quotes a different valuation: believe the one who shows you the transactions. A valuation without comparables is a bid for your listing.
R055553G
CEA-registered
PropNex
L3008022J
8+ years
In Singapore real estate
150+
Homes bought & sold
Service standards
What you can hold me to
These are my working standards on every sale. They're in writing, and if I miss one, I expect you to say so.
- Your valuation comes with comparables. Every number I quote is backed by transacted sales you can check. If I can't defend a price, I won't propose it.
- Nothing is advertised without your approval. Photos, copy and asking price go live only after you've signed them off.
- A written update every week. Viewings held, feedback heard, offers received, portal numbers. Even when the honest update is "nothing happened this week."
- No quiet price-chipping. If I believe a price adjustment is right, you get the reasons and the data in writing, and the decision stays yours. I don't win listings with a high number and spend months walking it back.
- Every offer reaches you. Full details, promptly, with my read of the buyer's position. You decide, always.
- I reply within the hour, 9am–9pm. Selling a home is stressful enough without chasing your agent.
- If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so. If your unit needs something I don't do well, you'll hear that before you sign anything, along with my honest suggestion.
"The bank valuation said $1.4M and I almost settled for it. Viona showed me why our unit wasn't average, brought evidence-backed comparables to every viewing, and closed 8% above valuation."
More on the testimonials page.
Questions sellers ask
Condo selling FAQs
It depends on when you bought. For a property bought on or after 4 July 2025 and sold within four years, Seller's Stamp Duty runs 16% in year one, 12% in year two, 8% in year three and 4% in year four, charged on the higher of the selling price or market value. Bought between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025, the older three-year schedule of 12%, 8% and 4% applies. Run your exact dates on the SSD calculator or check the seller stamp duty guide.
Three to five months is typical. A well-priced unit usually sees steady viewings in the first two to six weeks. Once you grant the Option to Purchase, the buyer has 14 days to exercise, and completion follows 8 to 12 weeks after exercise.
Yes. You can sell with the tenancy running, in which case the lease passes to the buyer, or serve notice and sell with vacant possession, subject to the tenancy terms. Investor buyers sometimes prefer a sitting tenant; own-stay buyers want vacant possession, so the choice changes your buyer pool and your timeline. Tell me your lease end date and I'll tell you which route I'd take.
Budget for agent commission (the market norm is 1–2% of the sale price; my rate is 1–2%, agreed in writing), your lawyer's conveyancing fee, and Seller's Stamp Duty if you are inside the holding window. Your CPF principal plus accrued interest is also refunded to your CPF accounts from the sale proceeds before cash reaches you — worked example in the CPF refund guide.
From recent transacted prices in your development and rival projects nearby, adjusted for floor, facing, renovation and remaining lease, then checked against the units currently for sale in your project. Buyers and their banks use the same transacted data, which is why asking prices alone are a weak guide.
Sell first if you want certainty on budget and no ABSD exposure. Buy first only if you can manage the ABSD remission clock: married couples buying their second residential property must sell their first within six months to keep the remission. The full rules are in the ABSD remission guide.
Start here
Every sale starts with the same question
What is it actually worth?
Get a free valuation and I'll tell you straight, with the transactions to back it up. If the number works for you, we talk about next steps. If it doesn't, you keep the comparables and owe me nothing.