Buying
Buying a home in Singapore without a property agent
HDB runs a free listing service where flat sellers advertise directly, and close to four in ten completed sales through it involved no agent on the seller's side.
Where private sellers actually list in Singapore
Each of these is a separate pool. A saved search on one tells you nothing about the others, so set up alerts on every one you intend to use.
- Anyone.com Listed by the owner
Homes listed by the people who own them, in one place rather than scattered between a government portal and a classifieds site. You deal with the owner directly and put your offer to them, and the conveyancing then runs exactly as it would otherwise.
More than 31 million active listings across 31 markets, agent-represented and owner-listed together. PropertyGuru carries only listings from registered agents.
Search owner-listed homes ↗ - HDB Flat Portal, Resale Flat Listing Owners can list
Buyer filter The listing itself shows whether the seller has appointed a salesperson
The government's own service, free to use, launched in May 2024 for flat sellers to list directly. This is the most straightforward FSBO channel of any country on this site, because the state built it and it costs nobody anything. Over 12,500 flats had been listed within roughly two years, and close to four in ten of the completed sales came from sellers who listed on their own with no agent.
- PropertyGuru Agents only
Buyer filter Nothing to filter, because owners cannot post here
Listings come only from registered agents on a paid subscription. It remains the biggest private-property search in Singapore, so you will use it, just not to find an owner.
- 99.co Owners can list
Buyer filter None, and the reason is worth knowing
It does accept direct-owner listings, and then does not show them to buyers. Its own help pages say those listings are visible only to subscribed agents in a separate database. So an owner listing here is generating agent leads rather than reaching you, which is the opposite of what the seller usually intends.
- Carousell Owners can list
Buyer filter Search direct owner or for sale by owner, which sellers put in the listing themselves
Free, public and genuinely owner-posted, with listings openly tagged as no agent fee. Smaller than the portals and the main route for private property sold without an agent, since HDB's service only covers flats.
How many homes this really covers
Direct selling is real here and measurable, which is rare, but it is still a minority. Roughly three thousand agent-free HDB resales came through the listing service across about two years, against more than twenty-six thousand HDB resale transactions in 2025 alone, so this is on the order of five or six percent of that market. For private property there is no equivalent government channel at all, and Carousell is the main place to look.
The ban on dual representation, Estate Agents Regulations 2010
One salesperson may not act for both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, and an agent paid by one side cannot accept any payment from the other, including a co-broke share or a referral fee. Co-broking is allowed, but it means two agents each paid by their own client, with the split agreed in writing before negotiating begins. This matters more than it sounds when you buy direct. It means the seller's agent is unambiguously not working for you and cannot be paid to pretend otherwise, so there is no middle option to be talked into. Either you engage your own agent and pay them, or you deal with the seller yourself.
In force since 2010. Read the legislation
Buying one, step by step
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Start on the HDB Flat Portal if you are buying a flat
The listing service is free and shows you whether the seller has an agent. Dealing with a seller who has none means neither side is paying commission, which is the cleanest position you can be in.
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Decide whether you want your own agent, before you view
A buyer's agent typically costs 1 percent and cannot be paid by the other side. If you go without, be clear that nobody in the transaction is acting for you until your solicitor is instructed.
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Work out your stamp duty in full
Buyer's Stamp Duty is banded and comes to S$15,600 on a S$700,000 purchase. Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty depends on residency status and how many properties you hold, and for a foreigner it is 60 percent, which dwarfs everything else in the transaction.
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Check eligibility before anything else on an HDB flat
Eligibility scheme, income ceiling where it applies, the ethnic integration quota for the block and the remaining lease. The lease matters for how much CPF you may use and what a bank will lend.
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Instruct a solicitor early
Conveyancing is compulsory and the lawyer is the one checking title, so appoint them before you commit rather than after. For a flat you can use HDB, and for private property you will need a firm on your bank's panel.
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Exercise the option and complete
The seller grants an Option to Purchase, you exercise it within the option period, and completion follows through the solicitors. Money moves between law firms, never directly to a seller.
Check before any money moves
- The remaining lease, and what it means for CPF usage and for what a bank will lend
- Buyer's Stamp Duty on the banded scale, and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty for your residency status and property count
- For a flat, eligibility, the income ceiling where it applies and the ethnic integration quota for that block
- Outstanding property tax, conservancy or maintenance charges attached to the unit
- For private property, the tenure, any en bloc discussions and the management corporation's accounts
- That the seller's agent, if there is one, is not also purporting to advise you, which is prohibited
Selling one instead? See where to list a home yourself in Singapore , or the full guide to selling without an agent in Singapore .
Common questions
Can I buy an HDB flat without an agent?
Yes, and the government built the channel for it. The Resale Flat Listing service on the HDB Flat Portal is free, lets sellers list directly and shows you whether a seller has appointed an agent. Close to four in ten completed sales through it involved no agent on the seller's side.
Why can I not find owner listings on PropertyGuru?
Because it accepts listings only from registered agents holding a subscription. 99.co is more interesting: it does take direct-owner listings but shows them only to subscribed agents in a separate database, so as a buyer you never see them.
Can the seller's agent handle my side too?
No. Dual representation is prohibited, and an agent paid by the seller cannot take any payment from you or your agent, including referral fees. If you want representation, you engage and pay your own.
Do I still need a lawyer?
Yes, and that is a good thing here. Conveyancing must be done by a practising solicitor, a lawyer is required to use CPF for a private purchase, and HDB can act for you on a flat. The professional actually checking title is never the agent.
What will stamp duty cost me?
Buyer's Stamp Duty is S$15,600 on S$700,000 and S$44,600 on S$1.5 million. Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty is on top and depends on who you are: nothing for a citizen buying their first home, and 60 percent for a foreigner, which on S$1.5 million is S$900,000.
Sources
Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.
- Resale Flat Listing service for sellers and buyersHousing and Development Board · hdb.gov.sg
- Estate agency work, dual representation and co-broking rulesCouncil for Estate Agencies · cea.gov.sg
- Buyer's Stamp Duty ratesMinistry of Finance · mof.gov.sg
- Can a direct owner list on 99.co99.co help centre · intercom.help