What it means if the 15-month wait-out period for private home owners is lifted

Private home owners looking to buy a non-subsidised resale Housing Board flat must wait 15 months after selling their property.

- Joyce Lim

Introduced in 2022, the 15-month wait-out period was aimed at curbing demand from cash-rich downgraders.

National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said recently that private property owners may not need to wait till 2027 or 2028 for a review of the wait-out requirement.

Here is what you need to know about the policy, its implications and why a change may be coming sooner than expected.

WHAT IS THE 15-MONTH WAIT-OUT PERIOD?

Introduced in September 2022, the 15-month wait-out period requires former and current owners of private homes to wait 15 months after selling their private property before they can buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat.

This rule does not apply to those 55 and over who are buying a four-room or smaller resale flat.

WHY WAS THE RULE IMPLEMENTED?

The wait-out period was introduced to help cool down the HDB resale market, which was heating up partly due to demand from private property downgraders flush with capital.

These buyers were seen as contributing to price surges, outbidding first-time home buyers in the resale market as they generally have more means to buy resale flats.

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE RULE?

Prices of resale HDB flats grew at a slower pace, suggesting that the temporary removal of private downgraders helped ease upward pressure on resale flat prices.