Singapore Property Decision Lab
EN/中文

Data Insight

Who Has an Agent in an HDB Resale — and Who Doesn't

Which side of an HDB resale the agent works for, from CEA's records matched to HDB's transaction counts.

Key finding

In an HDB resale the seller almost always has an agent; the buyer often does not. Matching CEA's agent records against HDB's own count of resale transactions, there were about 90 seller-side agent engagements per 100 HDB resales from 2017 to 2025 — close to one per sale — against 50 to 65 on the buyer's side. Buyer representation fell to a low near 50 per 100 in 2019–2020 and recovered to about 65 by 2025.

Agent engagements per 100 HDB resale transactions, by year

Seller-side engagements against buyer-side, per 100 recorded HDB resales.

406080100120201720182019202020212022202320242025
Seller's sideBuyer's side

CEA agent records matched to HDB Resale Flat Prices transaction counts, 2017–2025.

What the numbers show

  • Seller-side engagements run at about 90 per 100 transactions — near one agent per sale — and have barely moved in nine years.
  • Buyer-side engagements sat at 60 per 100 in 2017, fell to 50 in 2019–2020, then climbed to 65 by 2025 as a hot market pushed buyers to get their own help.
  • The two lines never meet. In every year since 2017, at least a third of HDB buyers transacted without an agent of their own.

What it means for a buyer

  • The listing agent works for the seller. Under co-broking the commission is shared, but that agent's duty is still to get the seller the best price.
  • If you want someone on your side, engage your own agent or a conveyancing lawyer before you make an offer, not after.
  • An unrepresented buyer still pays market price — the saved commission goes to the seller's side, not into a discount.

Data sources

Published 2026-08-29