Nurul Ismail, 35, is a quantity surveyor earning $6,800 a month. She lives with her parents and pays no rent, spends $3,800 a month, and has $150,000 invested and $90,000 in her CPF Ordinary Account. She is viewing resale flats in Jurong West and Choa Chu Kang, and wants to know how many years a flat adds to her stopping age of 55.
Most of an HDB resale flat is paid for from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account, first as the down payment and then as monthly instalments. According to HDB's announcement (checked 30 September 2026), HDB lowered the loan-to-value limit on its housing loans from 80% to 75% on 20 August 2024, so a quarter of the price is paid up front.
Priced at the median of HDB's 2026 resale transactions, a 3-room flat moves Nurul's stopping age from 55 to 58, a 4-room flat to 60 and a 5-room flat to 64. The sections below follow how she prices the three flats, pays for each, and decides which to buy.
What Do Resale Flats Cost In 2026?
According to HDB's resale flat prices dataset on data.gov.sg (fetched 8 September 2026), these were the prices of 4-room resale flats registered in the third quarter of 2026.
| Town | Transactions | Lowest | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurong West | 19 | $455,000 | $515,000 | $670,000 |
| Woodlands | 17 | $410,000 | $535,000 | $638,000 |
| Choa Chu Kang | 13 | $510,000 | $550,000 | $660,000 |
| Sengkang | 18 | $542,000 | $658,000 | $815,000 |
| Tampines | 19 | $570,000 | $675,000 | $825,000 |
| Toa Payoh | 9 | $797,500 | $1,040,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Queenstown | 8 | $845,000 | $1,105,000 | $1,246,000 |
Source: HDB, resale registrations for 2026 Q3 to 8 September 2026
The quarter was incomplete when the data was fetched, and each band rests on fewer than 20 sales, so the medians can move by tens of thousands of dollars. Beside the $515,000 4-room flat in Jurong West, Nurul prices two others from the same dataset: the median 3-room flat there at $395,000 (five sales) and the median 5-room flat in Choa Chu Kang at $631,000 (ten sales).
What Does Nurul Earn, Spend And Hold?
Nurul's figures are a worked example.
| Item | Figure (Nurul) |
|---|---|
| Monthly salary | $6,800 |
| Take-home pay, after 20% employee CPF | $5,440 |
| Spending | $3,800 a month, $45,600 a year |
| Invested each month | $1,640 |
| Invested today | $150,000 |
| CPF today | $90,000 Ordinary, $45,000 Special, $45,000 MediSave |
| CPF contributions a month | $1,564 Ordinary, $408 Special, $544 MediSave |
Source: Illustrative figures; CPF Board allocation rates from 1 January 2026
The contributions follow the CPF Board's allocation rates from 1 January 2026 (checked 30 September 2026) for members aged 35 and below. Total contributions are 37% of wages, or $2,516 a month.
How Would She Pay For Each Flat?
A buyer taking an HDB loan must first use the Ordinary Account savings above $20,000. Nurul therefore puts $70,000 of her $90,000 into the down payment and pays the rest in cash.
The HDB loan charges 2.6% a year (checked 30 September 2026), and the Mortgage Servicing Ratio caps instalments at 30% of gross income, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) (checked 30 September 2026). For Nurul that is $6,800 × 30% = $2,040 a month, which supports a 25-year loan of about $449,000. The 5-room flat needs a loan above that cap, so she would pay a larger down payment in cash.
| 3-room, Jurong West | 4-room, Jurong West | 5-room, Choa Chu Kang | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price, 2026 Q3 median | $395,000 | $515,000 | $631,000 |
| HDB loan, 25 years | $296,250 | $386,250 | $449,000 |
| Down payment | $98,750 | $128,750 | $182,000 |
| Paid from Ordinary Account | $70,000 | $70,000 | $70,000 |
| Paid in cash | $28,750 | $58,750 | $112,000 |
| Buyer's Stamp Duty, in cash | $6,450 | $10,050 | $13,530 |
| Monthly instalment | $1,344 | $1,752 | $2,037 |
| Instalment paid in cash | $0 | $188 | $473 |
Source: HDB; IRAS; illustrative figures
According to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) (checked 30 September 2026), Buyer's Stamp Duty on a residential property is 1% on the "First $180,000", 2% on the "Next $180,000" and 3% on the "Next $640,000". For the 4-room flat that is $1,800 + $3,600 + $4,650 = $10,050. The CPF Board allows the duty to be reimbursed from the Ordinary Account, but Nurul's Ordinary Account keeps only $20,000, so she pays it in cash.
How Late Can She Stop With Each Flat?
The stopping age comes from a month-by-month walk through retirement to 90, the same method as the case study in How Much Do You Need To Retire In Singapore?. All figures are in today's money. The walk assumes a cautious return of 2.5% a year above inflation on investments, 1.5 points below the 4% expected, and lowers CPF interest by the same 1.5 points, with spending at $3,800 a month in every case.
| Case | Earliest stopping age | Later by |
|---|---|---|
| No flat | 55 | |
| 3-room, Jurong West, $395,000 | 58 | About 3.2 years |
| 4-room, Jurong West, $515,000 | 60 | About 5.7 years |
| 5-room, Choa Chu Kang, $631,000 | 64 | About 9.3 years |
Source: Illustrative figures; cautious return of 2.5% a year above inflation
Without a flat, Nurul's money lasts from about 54.3, so the earliest whole year is 55. The walk counts neither the flat's value nor any sale of it, since she lives in it for the whole plan.
Read Also: Can You Retire Before 55 In Singapore?
Why Does The Date Move By Years?
The 4-room flat moves her date in four ways:
- Ordinary Account balance. Without a flat, Ordinary Account savings above the Full Retirement Sum can be withdrawn from 55. With the 4-room flat, all $1,564 a month of Ordinary Account contributions goes into the loan, or $1,564 × 240 = $375,360 over the 20 years to 55.
- Cash up front. The flat takes $58,750 + $10,050 = $68,800 from the $150,000 invested, and that sum no longer compounds.
- Cash each month. The instalment is $188 a month more than the Ordinary Account receives, so Nurul invests $1,452 a month in place of $1,640.
- Instalments after stopping. The loans run to 60, and a buyer who stops earlier pays the remaining instalments from savings beside spending.
The 5-room flat moves the date furthest because it needs the most cash. Its $125,530 of down payment and duty leaves $24,470 of her $150,000 invested.
Why Does The CPF In Her Flat Not Count As Spendable?
The $70,000 down payment and the instalments paid from the Ordinary Account stay in the flat. The CPF Board refunds the CPF used (checked 30 September 2026) to the member's CPF accounts when the flat is sold, where the usual CPF withdrawal rules apply.
A net worth figure that adds the flat's value, or the CPF used for it, to savings overstates what can pay for retirement. Nurul's plan counts the Ordinary Account balance left after the purchase and leaves the flat out.
Read Also: Should CPF Count In Your Net Worth?
What Would Change Her Result?
Four inputs change the dates most:
- Rent before the purchase. A buyer who pays rent today stops paying it after moving in, which Nurul's figures do not include.
- The flat type and town. Each $100,000 of price adds $25,000 to the down payment and about $340 a month to the instalment.
- The size of the Ordinary Account. A larger balance at purchase pays more of the down payment and leaves more cash invested.
- A later sale. A buyer who sells or moves to a smaller flat after 55 frees some of the money, which this walk does not count.
Read Also: Price A Home Purchase Against Your Stopping Age In Cashmere Pocket
Which Flat Does Nurul Choose?
Nurul chooses the 4-room flat in Jurong West at $515,000. It costs her $68,800 in cash up front and $188 a month above her Ordinary Account contributions, and it moves her stopping age from 55 to 60. The loan also ends at 60, so she pays no instalments from savings after she stops.
For a buyer on a modest salary, the flat type moves the stopping age by years. Buyers with a larger Ordinary Account, a second income or rent to replace will see a smaller shift, and the result depends on their own balances and the flat they choose.