You’ve agreed on a price with your buyer. The number feels good — maybe even better than you expected. And then, quietly, a worry creeps in: how much of this will I actually get to keep?
It’s one of the most common surprises in selling a home: the sale price and your final cash-in-hand are two very different numbers. Nothing sneaky is going on — it’s just that several costs sit between the two, and almost nobody explains them clearly before you list. So let’s lay them all out, gently and honestly, so you know exactly what to expect.
The costs, one by one
1. Agent’s commission — typically 1–2%
This is usually the biggest line item after your loan. Your agent’s fee (plus GST) covers marketing your home, arranging viewings, negotiating on your behalf, and guiding you through the whole process. It’s paid out of your sale proceeds at completion, not upfront.
2. Legal (conveyancing) fees — roughly $2,000 to $3,500
Your lawyer handles the paperwork that makes the sale official: transferring the title, processing your CPF refund, and liaising with your bank or HDB. It’s not the biggest cost on this list, but it’s a genuine one worth budgeting for.
3. Your outstanding home loan
Whatever you still owe the bank or HDB gets paid off first, straight out of the sale proceeds, before anything else is calculated.
4. Your CPF refund (plus accrued interest)
This one isn’t really a “cost” — it’s your own money — but it dramatically affects how much cash actually lands in your bank account. Any CPF you used to buy the home, plus 2.5% interest for every year you owned it, must be returned to your CPF account. The longer you’ve held the flat, the bigger this refund tends to be, and it can easily be the single largest deduction from your sale price.
5. Mortgage early-redemption penalty — if you’re still in lock-in
If you sell while still within your bank loan’s lock-in period (commonly 2–3 years), redeeming the loan early usually triggers a penalty, typically around 1.5% of your outstanding loan amount. Check your loan’s terms before you commit to a sale timeline.
6. Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) — only if you’re selling too soon
This one only applies if you bought the property fairly recently. For homes bought from July 2025, the SSD holding period is four years, with the rate tapering the longer you’ve held it — roughly 16% if sold within the first year, stepping down each year after, and nil once you’re past the four-year mark. Most long-term owner-occupiers never encounter this at all, but it’s essential to check if your purchase was recent.
7. Pro-rated property tax and conservancy (MCST) fees
A small housekeeping adjustment at completion, so you’re not paying for charges that fall after your buyer takes over, or vice versa. Usually a modest amount either way.
8. Optional: staging, repairs and touch-ups
Not a mandatory cost, but worth including honestly. A little decluttering, a fresh coat of paint, or fixing an obviously broken fixture isn’t required — but it often pays for itself by helping your home sell faster and closer to your asking price, rather than sitting and inviting lowball offers.
Putting it all together — a worked example
Let’s make this concrete. Say you’re selling an HDB flat for $700,000, you have $150,000 left on your loan, and you used $300,000 of CPF (with $40,000 in accrued interest built up over the years) to buy and pay it down.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $700,000 |
| Less: outstanding loan | −$150,000 |
| Less: CPF refund (principal + accrued interest) | −$340,000 |
| Less: agent’s commission (~2%) | −$14,000 |
| Less: legal fees | −$2,800 |
| Less: pro-rated tax/MCST adjustment (illustrative) | −$500 |
| Cash you actually walk away with | ≈ $192,700 |
Notice how far the final number sits from the headline $700,000. That gap isn’t lost money — most of it (the loan and CPF refund) is simply money returning to where it came from. But it’s exactly why doing this sum before you list, not after, matters so much for planning your next move.
Why doing this maths early matters
If you’re using your sale proceeds to fund your next home, this number is everything — it tells you your real downpayment power, not the sale price on paper. Sellers who skip this step sometimes get a nasty surprise at completion, discovering their “profit” is much smaller than they’d imagined once the loan, CPF and fees are accounted for. A five-minute conversation with your agent or lawyer before you list can save you that shock entirely.
A gentle reminder
Selling a home always involves more moving pieces than the sale price alone suggests — and every one of those pieces is normal, expected, and nothing to be alarmed by once you understand it. (This is a friendly overview to help you plan, not financial or legal advice — costs and rates can change, so do confirm your own numbers with your agent, lawyer, and bank before you commit.)
Know your real number before you list, and the whole process feels calmer from day one. You’ve got this.