12 August 2026, Singapore - More than half of HDB flat owners still hope to own a private home one day, but the budgets they are working with may be considerably tight and will shape their housing choices. PropNex's HDB Flat Owners Sentiment Survey 2026, which polled 1,533 flat owners between February and June this year, found that 55% aspire to upgrade to private housing, and about 92% of the respondents have set their budget for such a purchase at below $2.5 million.

Budget and Aspirations

The most-cited budget band was $1 million to under $1.5 million, selected by 30.1% of respondents, followed closely by the below-$1 million band at 29.9%. Only 7.9% of those surveyed indicated a budget of $2.5 million or more (see Table 1). Notably, respondents' budget and developer pricing may be converging to some extent. URA Realis caveat data showed that 62.2% of new non-landed private homes (excluding executive condominiums) sold in the first half of 2026 were priced at below $2.5 million.

Table 1: Respondents by housing budget range for a private home purchase

Respondents broadly matched preferred housing types to what their budgets could support. Among those with under $1 million to spend, 44.3% cited an HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) or resale flat as their next home, while 7.2% named a private residential property. In the $1.5 million to under $2 million band, new launch EC units led at 20.2% - notably, caveat data showed that the median price of new EC units sold in 1H 2026 stood at $1.83 million, sitting squarely in this budget range. Meanwhile, 24.8% of those working with a budget of $2 million to under $2.5 million opted for new launch condominiums as their preferred next home.

On private housing aspirations, 18.3% of all respondents favoured a private condominium in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), 15.7% for the Outside Central Region (OCR) and 7.2% for the Core Central Region (CCR), while 14.0% aspire to own a landed home - together making up some 55% who hope to upgrade to private housing eventually (see Table 2).

Table 2: Housing aspirations among survey respondents

Ms Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content, PropNex Realty said, "The assumption has long been that an HDB upgrader naturally gravitates towards private homes in the OCR. In this survey, the city fringe edges slightly ahead with 18.3% favouring an RCR condominium against 15.7% for the OCR. Respondents are likely drawn to the RCR as it is seen to strike a balance between convenience and affordability. The CCR drew more muted response and we reckon part of the reason may be a perception gap where some upgraders assume prime districts are beyond them. However, URA Realis caveat data indicated that 52.8% of new and resale non-landed homes sold in the CCR in 2025 transacted at below $2.5 million - the budget at which nine in 10 respondents in our survey were working within."

Affordability, Price Expectations, and Challenges to Upgrading

Housing affordability sentiment among respondents remains relatively subdued, and notably more so for private residential than the public housing market. Asked to rate current pricing across four housing segments, respondents drew a clear hierarchy where BTO flats are seen as more affordable, followed by HDB resale flats, and then private homes (see Table 3).

Table 3: Affordability perception by housing type

Some 40.4% of the respondents considered BTO flats affordable or extremely affordable, against 19.0% who found them unaffordable. Sentiment was more guarded on HDB resale flats, where 16.7% viewed prices as affordable against 39.3% who did not. Views on private housing were considerably more strained. Just 5.8% found new private home launch prices affordable, while private resale fared marginally better at 8.3% affordable.

The HDB resale price index fell 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026, after a 0.1% dip in Q1 - the first back-to-back quarterly declines since the first half of 2019. Despite the softer resale market, two-thirds of respondents do not expect HDB resale prices to fall in the next 12 months (see Table 4), while around three-quarters hold the same view on private home prices.

Table 4: Price expectations among respondents

Mr Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex Realty, said, "HDB resale prices have dipped for two consecutive quarters following a lengthy period of growth, yet two-thirds of the respondents do not expect them to fall over the next year, suggesting measured confidence in this market segment. Meanwhile, the expectations of continued price resilience in the private housing segment among respondents could also be supportive of market activity, as some prospective buyers may be encouraged to proceed with transacting should they perceive underlying market fundamentals to be sound and are not bracing for a sharp price correction."

Even so, affordability remains the main constraint on upgrading. High home prices were cited as the primary hurdle by 66.3% of respondents, up from 63.4% in the 2024 edition of the survey. The additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) was another challenge to upgrading, named by 31.2% of the respondents - down from 49.9% in 2024, suggesting some households may have acclimatised to the April 2023 ABSD revision.

Satisfaction over Current Home and Housing Preferences for Next Home

Wanting to upgrade is not the same as being dissatisfied. Some 73.9% of respondents said their current flat adequately meets their housing needs, on par with 74.0% in 2024. The survey found that satisfaction was highest among those who have lived in their flat for under 10 years and those past the 20-year mark.

On location preferences, it appears that familiarity counted for a great deal. A sizable 40.6% of respondents would prefer to buy their next home near where they currently live, such as in Tampines, Toa Payoh, Punggol, and Hougang. Among the regions, the city fringe was the most popular at 18.5%, followed by the East at 13.7%. Meanwhile, 77.0% named proximity to an MRT station or transport hub as a key consideration, ahead of a reasonably-priced property at 67.0% and adequate living space at 41.6%.

Respondents were also asked to pick from four private apartment unit types, each priced at a fixed $2,200 psf - the average transacted price of new mass-market homes in 2025. The mid-sized formats drew the largest shares. A three-bedroom unit of 800 to 1,100 sq ft, priced at $1.76 million to $2.42 million was chosen by 39.9% of the respondents, while a two-bedroom unit of 550 to 750 sq ft, at $1.21 million to $1.65 million drew 33.5% of the respondents. Four-bedders of 1,200 to 1,500 sq ft, at $2.64 million to $3.30 million were selected by 15.1% of those surveyed.

Sentiment on Executive Condominiums

Sentiment on ECs has softened since the 2024 survey. About 37.7% of respondents agreed that ECs remain relevant in catering to the private housing aspirations of middle- and upper-middle income families, down from 44.6% two years ago, while 23.3% disagreed in 2026, up from 19.5% previously. On pricing, just 10.9% considered new EC prices affordable, compared with 13.1% in 2024. The shift likely reflects the steady run-up in EC prices - the median transacted unit price for new ECs reached $1,844 psf in 1H 2026, up from $1,537 psf in 2024.

When asked what respondents intend to do with an EC purchase, only 26.7% said they would stay in the unit for the long term with no intention to rent or sell it. The remaining three-quarters described a more transactional plan: 22.2% would rent it out as an investment property after the minimum occupation period (MOP); 25.7% would sell after fulfilling the MOP to upgrade; and 25.4% would sell once the EC is privatised (see Table 5). For most respondents, in other words, an EC appears to be a rung on the housing ladder rather than a destination.

Table 5: EC purchase intention among respondents

That pattern could potentially be addressed by new EC measures announced on 8 May 2026, by extending the MOP for new ECs (on sites sold on or after 8 May) to 10 years and pushing full privatisation to 15 years. Questions on the new EC measures were added in the survey's closing weeks and drew responses from 84 respondents whose monthly household income falls within the $16,000 ceiling for new EC purchases. Among them, 16.7% said they were likely to buy a future EC project affected by the measures, against 44.0% who said they were unlikely. Of the new measures, the 10-year MOP was the most-cited deterrent at 40.5%. (Note: These figures are best read as indicative as they rest on a small sample gathered shortly after the announcement, and before the first affected EC projects reach the market.)

Please refer to the full report for more details.

Methodology

Findings are based on PropNex's HDB Flat Owners Sentiment Survey 2026, a self-reported poll conducted from February to June 2026 among 1,533 HDB flat owners. Respondents were drawn from attendees at PropNex's consumer education seminars and from the company's digital channels, and were not randomly sampled; the findings should therefore be read as indicative of this respondent group rather than as nationally representative. Respondents comprised 93.3% Singapore citizens and 6.7% Singapore permanent residents. By generation, Millennials made up 51.7% of the sample, Generation X 32.0%, Baby Boomers 14.9% and Generation Z 1.4% (21 respondents). Findings relating to the new EC measures are based on 84 income-eligible respondents and are indicative only. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.