List of Executive Condos Without Resale Levy in 2026: How First-Timers Skip the EC Levy

The short answer: there is no published HDB list of specific Executive Condominium projects that are exempt from the resale levy. Whether you pay the executive condo resale levy depends entirely on your own housing history, not on the project name, and first-timers who have never taken a housing subsidy pay nothing.

Many HDB upgraders search for a "list of Executive Condos without resale levy" hoping certain projects are levy-free. The reality is more useful to understand: the levy follows the buyer, not the building. If you know which category you fall into, you can predict your levy down to the dollar before you ever step into a showflat.

How the EC Resale Levy Actually Works in 2026

The resale levy is a long-standing public housing policy, not a new cooling measure. According to HDB, the levy was implemented to ensure a fair allocation of public housing subsidies between first-timers and second-timers by reducing the subsidy enjoyed for the second HDB flat or EC.

The critical distinction is your status. Second-Timers are liable to pay a Resale Levy when they buy a new EC directly from a developer, a few older ECs were exempted, but ECs launched from 2015 onwards have the Resale Levy rule imposed on second-timers. In practice, every new EC launching in 2026 falls under this rule, so there is no modern project that magically avoids the levy.

If you are buying your first subsidised home, the picture is simple. As a first-timer, you do not pay any resale levy. Second-timers who previously enjoyed CPF Housing Grants must pay the resale levy based on bedroom type. You can confirm your own status and obligations directly on the official HDB EC eligibility page.

Who Pays and Who Skips the Levy Entirely

The cleanest way to think about an "EC without resale levy" is to identify the buyer profiles that owe nothing. The key factor is whether your first property purchase was directly from HDB or a new EC from a developer; those who typically pay include first-timer applicants who previously bought a new HDB flat directly from HDB, a new EC from a developer, a DBSS flat from a developer, or a resale HDB flat with a CPF housing grant.

So you avoid the EC resale levy completely if you fall into any of these groups:

• True first-timers who have never taken any HDB housing subsidy and never owned a subsidised flat.
• Resale HDB owners who bought without any CPF Housing Grant. Buying on the open market without a grant does not count as taking a subsidy.
• Buyers choosing a resale EC instead of a new launch. Some buyers might choose to buy a resale EC or a private condominium to avoid the executive condo resale levy.

If you are exploring whether to move from public to private housing, our complete EC buyers guide and our HDB-to-EC upgrade roadmap walk through eligibility, quotas and timing in detail.

The EC Resale Levy Amounts You Need to Budget For

If you are a second-timer who took a subsidy before, the levy is a fixed amount based on the first subsidised flat you owned, not on your sale price or your new EC price. These amounts are fixed; they do not change based on the sale price of your previous property or the purchase price of your new property, and the levy is based purely on the type of property you owned previously.

For first subsidised flats sold from 3 March 2006 onwards, HDB applies the following fixed levy:

These figures are confirmed on HDB's official conditions after buying guidance. If you sold your first subsidised flat from 3 March 2006 onwards you pay a fixed amount resale levy, subject to a minimum of $15,000 for 2-room, $30,000 for 3-room, $40,000 for 4-room, $45,000 for 5-room, and $50,000 for an Executive flat, while if the first subsidised flat was sold before 3 March 2006 a percentage graded resale levy applies.

One detail trips up many upgraders: how the levy is paid. The resale levy payable is determined at the point you book your second subsidised flat, it applies regardless of ownership type or shared interest in the flat, and payment must be made using cash and/or your flat sale proceeds, not a housing loan. Crucially, you cannot dip into CPF for this. To map your full cash outlay, our HDB sales proceeds guide and the broader stamp duty overview are useful companions, since the levy sits on top of BSD and your down payment.

What the New 2026 EC Rules Changed and What They Did Not

EC policy shifted meaningfully this year, but the resale levy was left untouched. On 8 May 2026, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced a series of new policy changes concerning EC ownership and purchases.

The headline changes affect quotas, payment and occupation rules. First-timers will enjoy higher chances of securing an EC, as their allocation quota at new launches will be raised to 90%, up from the previous 70%, and the priority period for first-timers will be raised significantly from one month to two years. The Deferred Payment Scheme that allowed new EC buyers to defer the bulk of their property cost until completion will no longer be offered for uncompleted ECs, with only the Normal Payment Scheme applicable, similar to the private condominium market.

Importantly for upgraders timing a launch, these new rules apply to all EC Government Land Sale sites with tender closing dates on or after 8 May 2026. Projects already tendered before that date follow the older framework, including the prior MOP. None of these changes altered the resale levy schedule above.

Opportunities Versus Risks for 2026 EC Buyers

On the opportunity side, ECs remain one of the most accessible routes into private-style living. Recent demand has been strong, with reports that pent-up interest helped a 2026 launch sell the vast majority of its units on launch day. For genuine first-timers, the absence of any resale levy plus a possible CPF grant under the EC CPF Housing Grant scheme stretches budgets considerably.

The risks are equally real and should not be glossed over. The levy is a pure cash cost for second-timers, and at up to $55,000 it can derail an otherwise tidy upgrade if not planned for early. The longer MOP and removal of deferred payment under the new rules reduce flexibility and tie up cash sooner. And buyers chasing a "levy-free" project may overlook that a resale EC or private condo, while levy-free, carries its own ABSD exposure if it becomes a second property. Review the official IRAS ABSD rates and the MAS loan-to-value limits before committing. Our guide to TDSR and LTV explains how borrowing caps interact with your levy cash crunch.

Run your own numbers: try the Buyer Auto-Profiler to see which property types fit your profile, and the stamp duty calculator to work out your BSD and ABSD (free, no sign-up).

Working out whether you owe an EC resale levy, and exactly how much cash you need on top of your down payment, is one of the most common stumbling blocks for Singapore upgraders. Because the answer hinges entirely on your personal housing history, a generic article can only take you so far. If you would like an independent, numbers-first review of your situation, including your levy exposure, CPF refund and realistic EC budget, the team at PropertyNet.SG is happy to walk through your specific scenario with you so you can plan your next move with clarity and confidence.