Selling property in Singapore: Complete guide 2026

This guide provides a roadmap to selling property in Singapore, covering legal requirements, market insights, step-by-step processes, cost breakdowns, tax implications, and smart financial management of sale proceeds. Plus, in case you need to repatriate funds after selling your Singaporean property, we’ll also cover international money transfer considerations, demonstrating how providers like Wise can compare with banks when transferring large sums internationally.

Key takeaways

• Before you can sell your property in Singapore it’s important to understand the practical and legal framework used
• Getting professional help from a local real estate agent, as well as your conveyancing lawyer can help the process go smoothly
• When selling a property in Singapore you’ll usually have to pay for estate agent fees and other legal or incidental costs
• If you sell a property you have owned for less than 4 years (purchased after July 2025) you will need to pay Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD)
• Taxes may also apply on any profit made if you derive your main income from selling properties
• Selling any property can take a significant time, depending on market conditions, the property type, and the time taken to manage the legal handover
• Once you’ve sold your property in Singapore you must settle your financial obligations, and can then transfer your funds – if you’re sending your payment overseas, a provider like Wise can help you cut the overall costs of your transfer

This guide looks at the process and implications for expats and foreigners selling property in Singapore. If you are a Singapore citizen or PR, selling a private property or HDB, your duties and options may be different. Get local advice from relevant government agencies and realtors if you’re unsure of your options or obligations.

Legal requirements for selling property in Singapore

Selling a property can be a complex process – but before you even start it’s important that you understand all your local and cross border legal obligations. This guide covers key points – but it’s also good practice to get local advice from professionals who can address your specific situation and ensure you’re prepared properly to sell your property in Singapore.

Some legal requirements it helps to know about:

• You will need a conveyancing solicitor to sell a Singaporean property. You can engage your solicitor once you have already reached the offer stage of your sale, but it’s often best to get help on board earlier in your journey
• You will be asked to provide your identity and address at various points in the transaction, to comply with Singaporean law
• Prior to selling a Singapore property you’ll need to make sure you have cleared any property tax payments owed, as well as any property specific fees such as MCST fees in a condo
• Properties sold within a short time are subject to Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD). These rules changed in July 2025, so check how they apply to you through your agent or solicitor
• If you’re selling properties for a living you may have to pay Singapore tax if the transactions are deemed to be part of a trade or business activity, rather than a passive investment – bear in mind you may also have tax obligations in your home country. Using a tax advisor can help where your residency and tax status are complicated

What are the documents needed to sell a property in Singapore?

The full range of legal documents required for a property sale in Singapore can vary a little depending on the type of property, and the location.

Your solicitor will manage most of the process, letting you know what paperwork you need to prepare – usually including:

• Your own photo ID and proof of address, and that of any co-owners
• An Option to Purchase (OTP) document, which is issued to a potential buyer when an offer is made
• Certificate of Title for the property
• Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) – prepared for completion

How to sell your house in Singapore: Step-by-step guide

While every journey is a little different, the process to sell property in Singapore will look quite similar in most cases. Here’s an outline of the usual steps involved with selling a property in Singapore.

Step 1 – Get professional help and start the market analysis

Before you can put your Singaporean property on the market, you’ll need to get a valuation and prepare your local support team.

A licensed local real estate agent can help you assess your property’s market value. You may also want to consider whether undertaking any repairs or renovations would increase the property value. If this is something you consider, you’ll need to weigh the improvement costs against potential gains in asking price to decide if it’s worthwhile. Ultimately, a broad range of factors influence property value including location, property type, age, size, and condition – getting professional help to make a realistic price assessment can be a huge help.

You can also start to pick out other professionals who may help you such as a conveyancing solicitor to handle the legal aspects of the sale.

Step 2 – Preparing documentation and advertising your property

Your next steps will be supported by your local advisors and must include preparing your marketing strategy and advertising your property.

Your agent will take a lead on preparing property descriptions and area information. Together you can create your preferred marketing strategy to help your property sell as quickly as possible.

💡 Tip: At this stage you may also want to start planning to close off your own responsibilities to the property, such as paying any remaining property taxes or condo management fees.

Step 3 – Managing viewings, receiving and evaluating offers

Once your property is advertised, it’s time to start conducting property viewings to find a buyer. Your agent can support this – particularly handy if you’re non-resident.

Once a buyer shows interest and makes an acceptable offer you can choose to issue an Option to Purchase (OTP) document which gives the buyer a fixed period of time to complete any checks they need before confirming their intention to buy. If the buyer decides to exercise this OTP they pay a fixed amount – usually 1% of the sale cost – and you’ll need to withdraw the property from the market for a fixed period – usually 14 to 21 days.

Step 4 – Due diligence checks and conveyancing

After agreeing a sale, the conveyancing process begins. There may be questions arising from the buyer – these will be handled by your solicitor, until you’re all agreed on the details of the transfer.

At this stage the buyer and their legal team complete any required due diligence checks and you can agree a completion date together.

Step 5 – Completion and fund transfer

The final step is called completion – where the ownership passes to the buyer, on an agreed date. Usually this is around 8–12 weeks from the offer being accepted.

The property ownership passes over to the buyer once the outstanding purchase cost has been sent to the solicitor, and the sale is completed.

You’ll then receive the net sale proceeds by bank transfer. We’ll look at the likely tax obligations you’ll need to think about – and also how best to send your money to your home country once you’ve received it – in a moment.

Insider tip – Sending funds from a property sale overseas: Why Chris chose Wise

Wise offers high value, low cost payments if you need to send money abroad after selling a property in Singapore. Your funds are converted with the mid-market rate and low, transparent fees – there’s even an automatic fee discount for higher value transfers. Here’s what one recent Wise customer has to say about the service on an online review website: “Brilliant service all the way from our house sale in Spain through to then transferring euros to GBP into a UK account. Would definitely recommend to everyone.” *In this example, the customer name was changed for privacy. The customer wasn’t paid to share their review.

Tax implications and responsibilities for property sellers

So – what tax do you pay if you sell a property in Singapore?

Ultimately the tax implications of selling a Singaporean property vary depending on factors including how long you’ve owned it and whether or not you’re earning an income from selling or flipping properties.

The two key taxes in Singapore you need to know about are:

• Seller’s Stamp Duty
• Income tax if you sell properties for a living (flipping)

Seller’s Stamp Duty

Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) is calculated according to the selling price or market value of the property and depends on how long you have owned the property and when you bought it. There have been many changes in this calculation, as recently as July 2025, so do make sure you’ve caught up with the details before you choose to sell.

For properties bought between 11 Mar 2017 and 3 Jul 2025 (all inclusive) Seller’s Stamp Duty applied if you sold within 3 years of purchase. The rate you pay depends on the length of time you owned the property. From July 2025, the duty is payable on properties sold within 4 years of purchase, as follows:

Length of ownership	Seller’s Stamp Duty amount
Up to 1 year	16 %
1 – 2 years	12 %
2 – 3 years	8 %
3 – 4 years	4 %
4 years +	0 %

Income taxes and Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

Singapore does not usually have CGT on property sales – but you may need to pay taxes if you earn a primary income from selling properties. Check with your legal advisor if you’re not sure how this works in your case.

Bear in mind also that if you are an expat or non-resident, you may need to pay tax including CGT in your home country.

The tax you pay on the sale of your Singaporean property depends on your circumstances, so you’ll need to get professional support or ask your solicitor and tax advisor to help you calculate what you owe.

As tax is complex – and even more complicated if you’re navigating an unfamiliar system – you’ll need to get professional advice to ensure you comply with all your legal obligations.

Income tax declaration requirements

You don’t normally need to declare any income tax relating to your property sale, but you must notify IRAS of the sale or transfer of your property within 1 month. Your solicitor will usually do this for you.

Is it necessary to declare a property sale on income tax as a non-resident in Singapore?

Non-residents are required to report the sale of a Singaporean property to IRAS, usually through their solicitor. There may be Seller’s Stamp Duty to pay, but CGT and income tax do not normally apply in Singapore. Get support from your legal advisor on this matter to make sure you’re clear on the process.

You may also need to take tax advice in your country of tax residence, as many countries tax worldwide income including foreign property sales.

International considerations for cross-border property sales

If you’re a foreigner selling a Singaporean property it’s important to know the regulatory requirements and your tax reporting obligations in both Singapore and your own home country. Depending on your home country and where you’re a tax resident you may have obligations to the authorities in more than one location.

Once you’re confident that you’ve settled all your tax obligations you may want to move your funds from Singapore to your home country. In this case, bear in mind that source of funds documentation is typically needed when transferring large amounts internationally. In this case, that may be proof of your property sale and a bank statement showing the money reaching your Singaporean bank for example.

It’s also crucial to find providers for cost-effective international transfers and currency exchange management. When you’re sending a high value payment, small percentage changes in the exchange rate used can mean a large fee to pay in the end. Finding a provider which uses the mid-market rate, or as close as possible to it, can often be the best way to ensure you’re getting a good deal on your transfer. Providers like Wise can help.

Bank vs. Wise: International transfers of large sums

To give you an idea of how this works, here’s a comparison of the price of a bank and Wise for sending money to an account in your own name based overseas. For this example we imagine we are sending 100,000 SGD to EUR to be received in a bank in Europe directly.

Sending 100,000 SGD to EUR	Sending money with Wise	Sending money with UOB
Send money fees	160.63 SGD	92.50 SGD
Exchange rate	0.662752 – mid-market rate	0.654392
Total received in EUR	66,168.74 EUR 🏆	65,378.62 EUR

In this example, you can see that you get more in EUR in the end with Wise. This is despite the fact that Wise’s transfer fees look to be higher compared to the fee used by UOB.

The key difference here is that Wise uses the mid-market rate, while the bank adds a percentage fee to the rate used. This is a common practice, but it can mean you’re paying more in fees than you expect. On high value payments in particular, this cost can add up significantly until the conversion cost is far higher than the upfront fee you’re paying for the transfer.

Wise offers a solution for international property sellers, with international transfers that use mid-market rates and transparent fees, which include a discount for sending large amounts abroad. You can also use Wise rate lock features to help manage or mitigate currency fluctuations, and if you’d prefer you can receive your payment in SGD to a Wise account to convert it at a later stage.

How much does it cost to sell a house in Singapore? Cost breakdown

Here are some common fees to consider when selling a property in Singapore:

• Real estate agent commissions: Singaporean real estate agents can have very variable fees of around 2% (plus GST) of the property value
• Legal and professional fees: You’ll need to have a solicitor to cover the legal aspects of the sale which may cost 2,500 SGD–3,000 SGD for an average home
• Stamp Duty: If this applies if can be up to 16% of the purchase cost if you’re selling within a very short period of buying
• Property taxes and fees: You’ll need to close out any outstanding property tax or fees to your condo’s management for example
• Pre-sale preparation costs: Don’t forget to factor in any specific costs for things like repairs to your property before you put it on the market.

How long does it take to sell a house in Singapore?

Singaporean authorities suggest it takes around 8–12 weeks on average to sell a Singaporean property once an offer has been made. The total process can last 2.5 months to 3.5 months.

In general, the timeline for selling a property in Singapore can vary enormously based on factors like market conditions and seasonal variations, property type, location, and pricing, marketing effectiveness and presentation quality.

Tips and best practices for successful property sales

Here are a few final thoughts to make sure your property sale in Singapore is a success:

• Get professional legal advice: Selling a property in another country is tricky – you’ll need local legal advisors on hand to help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure compliance with all legal requirements.
• Bear in mind currency conversion costs: If you need to repatriate the funds from your sale you’ll need to find a provider which offers low overall costs, including a good exchange rate. Tools like forward contracts or limit orders which are available from currency specialists can also help.
• Price your property carefully: Use recent sales data from your local area, and get a professional valuation to make sure you’re pricing your property appropriately.
• Have a diverse marketing strategy: Advertise your property on multiple channels and use word of mouth if possible to build interest.

Conclusion

While selling property in Singapore can be complex, it’s achievable – and you can make the process far less stressful by engaging the right local support teams early on.

When selling a property in a foreign country you will need to take time to get to know local laws, market conditions, and financial obligations such as taxes on your property value. Bear in mind you may also have reporting or other duties in your home country.

Once you’ve successfully sold your property and it’s time to repatriate your funds, check out providers like Wise to make sure you get a great deal on your transfer. Wise uses the mid-market rate on currency conversion and has automatic discounts on fees when sending higher value amounts which may mean you spend less on fees and keep more for yourself in the end.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What’s the best way to transfer my property sale proceeds internationally?

To transfer property sale proceeds internationally you’ll need to find a good value, secure service which offers low fees and a fair exchange rate. Providers like Wise which offer the mid-market rate on currency conversion and automatic discounts on fees for higher value amounts can be a good pick.

Do I need to pay tax on my property sale if I’m a non-resident?

You may need to pay tax on a property sale as a non-resident, including Seller’s Stamp Duty and tax if you’re selling as a main source of income. You may also have to pay tax in your home country. Tax can be complex, so getting professional advice is essential to make sure you comply with all your obligations.

Do I pay tax in the country I live in if I sell a property in Singapore?

This can vary depending on your country of residence, your tax residence and your personal situation. Get professional advice if you are not sure of your tax obligations in Singapore or in your home country.

What happens when I sell a property in Singapore?

When you sell a Singaporean property you’ll need to settle any outstanding costs payable to your agent and mortgage provider, and your legal fees. You can then repatriate your funds if you choose to.

Is it necessary to use a real estate agent to sell my property in Singapore?

It is not a legal requirement to use a real estate agent to sell a property in Singapore – but doing so can mean you have a smoother sale experience, and get a higher price for the property in the end.

What to consider when selling a property in Singapore?

Remember to check out the legal and practical requirements for selling a property in Singapore, which may be different to your home country. You’ll need a good local team to advise you on legal and tax matters, the local real estate market and how best to proceed with your sale.

Useful Resources

• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) – selling a property checklistes
• Housing and Development Board (HDB) – selling a HDB property
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) – Seller’s Stamp Duty
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) – tax when you derive your income from property sales
• Wise – for currency exchange and international transfer services
• OFX – for currency exchange and international transfer services