1 in 2 HDB flat owners eye private homes but budgets are tight

About 59% have a budget below $1.5m, and only 7.9% have a budget above $2.5m.

Over 1 in 2 HDB flat owners hope to upgrade to private housing one day, but budgets are tight, according to a poll by PropNex.

In a survey of 1,533 flat owners between February and June 2026, PropNex found that 55% aspire to upgrade to private housing. However, 92% of the respondents have set their budgets for such a purchase at below $2.5m.

Over half or 59.9% of the respondents have a private home purchase budget of below $1.5m, with 30.1% having a budget range of between $1m to under $1.5m, and 29.9% with a budget below $1m.

Only 7.9% of those surveyed have a budget of above $2.5m.

Amongst those with a budget of below $1m, 44.3% cited an HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) or a resale flat as their next home, whilst 7.2% named a private residential property.

In the $1.5m to under $2m band, made up of 10.2% of all respondents, the preferred next home are new executive condominiums (EC). This is within the median price of new EC units sold in H1 2026, which stood at $1.83m.

Of those with a budget of $2m to under $2.5m, 24.8% said that their preferred next home is a new launch condominium.

Of those with private housing aspirations, 18.3% 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). About 14% aspire to own a landed home, PropNex found.

“Respondents are likely drawn to the RCR as it is seen to strike a balance between convenience and affordability,” said Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty.

“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,” Wong said.

Housing affordability sentiment remains subdued, with 63% of respondents saying that private new launches are unaffordable.

Over half or 59.2% of the respondents said that private resale units are unaffordable.

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