By The Address desk · Last verified 12 October 2026
Selling a condo or landed home in Singapore follows a familiar path: you sign an estate agency agreement (if you use an agent), market the home, grant the buyer an Option to Purchase for an option fee, usually 1%, and the buyer has an option period, typically 14 days, to exercise it, usually by paying a further 4%. Completion then happens on the date set in the contract. Your main costs are the agent’s commission, which CEA says has no fixed rate and is negotiated and paid on completion; your conveyancing lawyer’s fees; and Seller’s Stamp Duty if you sell soon after buying: for homes bought on or after 4 July 2025, 16% to 4% if sold within four years. From the proceeds, your loan is repaid first, then the CPF you used, with accrued interest.
A sale is a big moment, often the end of a happy chapter and the start of the next. Knowing the costs and dates in advance means the number that lands in your account is the one you expected.
Quick facts
- Agent commission: no fixed rate; agree it in writing before the agent starts work, and check whether GST applies.
- You pay commission to the agency, not the individual agent, on completion.
- Your agent cannot collect commission from both sides of the same deal.
- Option fee: usually 1%; option period: typically 14 days; exercise: usually 4% more (all negotiable).
- SSD, homes bought on or after 4 July 2025: 16%, 12%, 8%, 4% for sales within 1, 2, 3 or 4 years.
- SSD is payable within 14 days of the sale.
The timeline, step by step
- Prepare: check your outstanding loan and any lock-in penalty with your bank, and your CPF usage and accrued interest on the CPF website.
- Appoint an agent (optional): sign CEA’s prescribed Estate Agency Agreement, exclusive or non-exclusive, with the commission written in.
- Market and negotiate: viewings, offers and a price.
- Grant the Option to Purchase: the buyer pays the option fee, usually 1%. CEA publishes standard OTP and Sale and Purchase templates for private resales.
- Option period: typically 14 days. If the buyer does not exercise, the option lapses and you keep the option fee.
- Exercise: the buyer exercises and pays the balance of the deposit, usually 4%. If this is a sale within your SSD period, SSD is due within 14 days of the sale.
- Conveyancing: both lawyers handle title checks, redemption of your mortgage and the CPF refund.
- Completion: on the agreed date, the buyer pays the balance, your loan and CPF are repaid, you hand over keys, and the cash balance comes to you.
What it costs to sell
| Cost | How much | When |
|---|---|---|
| Agent’s commission | Negotiated; no fixed rate (plus GST if the agency charges it) | On completion |
| Conveyancing lawyer | Quoted by the law firm; ask for an all-in figure including disbursements | Around completion |
| Seller’s Stamp Duty | Bought on/after 4 Jul 2025: 16% (up to 1 yr), 12% (up to 2), 8% (up to 3), 4% (up to 4), then nil | Within 14 days of the sale |
| Loan prepayment penalty | Per your loan contract, if still in a lock-in period | On redemption |
| CPF refund with accrued interest | All CPF used plus interest, back into your own CPF account | On completion |
SSD is charged on the higher of the price or market value. For homes bought from 11 March 2017 to 3 July 2025, the older rates apply: 12%, 8% and 4% within one, two and three years, and none after three years.
A worked example
Hypothetical figures: a condo sold for $1,500,000, with an agreed commission of 2% plus 9% GST.
- Option fee from buyer (1%): $15,000.
- Exercise payment (4%): $60,000, making a 5% deposit of $75,000.
- Commission: 2% of $1,500,000 is $30,000; GST of 9% adds $2,700, so $32,700.
- If you bought in September 2025 and sell in October 2026, you have held it more than one year but not more than two, so SSD is 12%: $180,000. Selling after September 2029 would mean no SSD.
The example shows why timing matters most: SSD can dwarf every other cost. Commission rates in real deals vary; this 2% is only for the arithmetic.
The WahLiao Verdict
Check your SSD date before anything else; if you are a few months short of a threshold, waiting may save more than any price haggle. Then agree commission in writing on CEA’s form, get two lawyer quotes, and ask your bank and CPF for exact redemption and refund figures. With those four numbers on one page, you will know your true take-home before you grant the option, and you can negotiate with calm confidence.
Questions people ask
Is there a standard agent commission for selling?
No. CEA says there are no fixed commission rates or prescribed guidelines; you agree the amount and terms with the agent before work starts.
Can I sell without an agent?
Yes. CEA provides seller checklists and standard Option to Purchase and Sale and Purchase templates for owners transacting on their own. You will still need a conveyancing lawyer.
What if the buyer does not exercise the option?
The option lapses at the end of the option period and you keep the option fee, free to sell to someone else.
Do I have to pay back my CPF even if I make a loss?
If you sell the whole property at market value and the proceeds fall short, the CPF Board says you refund the selling price less the outstanding loan, and need not top up the shortfall in cash.
Sources: Council for Estate Agencies, engaging a property agent to buy or sell; Council for Estate Agencies, selling a private residential property on your own; IRAS, Seller’s Stamp Duty rates (PDF); PropertyGuru, guide to the Option to Purchase; CPF Board, CPF refund when selling. The Address explains; it does not advise.
Read next: Property Agents in Singapore: CEA’s Rules, Commission and What an Agent Can’t Do · Using CPF to Buy a Home: The Valuation Limit, the Withdrawal Limit and Accrued Interest · Back to The Address
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