Sell your Private, and Buy HDB? Will easing happen anytime soon in 2025?

📰 What Business Times Reported

A Business Times article from 8 February 2024 highlighted these key recommendations by PropertyGuru to ease property measures ahead of Budget 2024 reddit.com +15businesstimes.com.sg +15businesstimes.com.sg +15:

Shorten/remove the 15‑month wait
- Currently, private property owners who sell must wait 15 months before they can buy a non‑subsidised HDB resale flat (up from the earlier 6 months, introduced in September 2022).
- PropertyGuru suggests revisiting this since resale price inflation has slowed and new BTO supply is easing pressure reddit.comchannelnewsasia.com +13businesstimes.com.sg +13businesstimes.com.sg +13.
- They note that some may downgrade due to financial reasons, and easing the wait could help people “right‑size” to HDB flats sooner 99.co +14businesstimes.com.sg +14reddit.com +14.
Cautions & safeguards
- Removing the wait could trigger a jump in HDB prices. PropertyGuru recommends offsetting this with:
  - Longer minimum occupancy periods (MOP), or
  - A prorated capital gains tax to discourage speculative buys mothership.sg +5businesstimes.com.sg +5reddit.com +5reddit.com +8reddit.com +8mothership.sg +8.

Introduced on 30 September 2022 to curb resale flat prices, especially for larger units.
Designed to slow down private-downgraders with financial muscle, making it fairer for first-timers and smaller-flat buyers reddit.com +14businesstimes.com.sg +14mnd.gov.sg +14reddit.com +5channelnewsasia.com +5reddit.com +5.
Seniors (55+) are exempted if they’re downsizing to four‑room or smaller flats reddit.com +1499.co +14mnd.gov.sg +14.

HDB has received around 3,470 appeals from private property owners seeking to bypass the rule between 30 Sept 2022 and 31 Dec 2023 reddit.com +14businesstimes.com.sg +14mnd.gov.sg +14.
Only 25% (~850) of appeals were approved, primarily for those with extenuating circumstances or where the flat sale was committed before the rule took effect channelnewsasia.com +4businesstimes.com.sg +4mnd.gov.sg +4.
Around 650 appeals were still under review as of October 2022, indicating strong demand and some hardship straitstimes.com +4channelnewsasia.com +4businesstimes.com.sg +4.

Analysts say the rule acts as a deterrent against wealthy buyers from entering the larger-flat segment and helps cool a hot market businesstimes.com.sg +3businesstimes.com.sg +3straitstimes.com +3.
It’s helped moderate demand and price growth:
- HDB resale prices grew ~4.9% in 2023 (down from 10.4% in 2022)channelnewsasia.com +10businesstimes.com.sg +10channelnewsasia.com +10.
However, pressure on larger flats continues; many million‑dollar transactions persist, suggesting deeper structural demand .

Minister Desmond Lee has reiterated that this is a temporary cooling measure.
The government is closely monitoring market conditions and may adjust the rule when the time is right — though it’s “not the time to lift it yet” mnd.gov.sg +7straitstimes.com +7businesstimes.com.sg +7asiaone.com.