'My flat looks like a stranger's home': Residents speak out as duplicate images plague HDB resale listings

The photographs showed a bright, renovated kitchen with marble countertops and a city view from the living room window. When the buyer turned up at the Jurong West flat, the kitchen had laminate fittings and the window faced a car park. The listing had been posted with images from a different unit entirely — a problem that property agents and flat hunters say is disturbingly common in Singapore's HDB resale market.

Duplicate and mismatched listing images have emerged as a persistent irritant for buyers and sellers alike, drawing renewed scrutiny as resale flat prices remain elevated. In the first quarter of 2026, the HDB Resale Price Index continued to reflect values well above pre-pandemic levels, and with the average five-room resale flat in mature estates transacting above S$700,000, buyers say they cannot afford to waste weekends chasing listings that bear no resemblance to the actual unit.

The problem behind the photos

The issue typically arises when agents recycle images from a previous transaction involving the same flat — or, in some cases, a different unit in the same block — without disclosing that the photographs predate recent renovation changes or reflect a different layout entirely. Some listings on major portals such as PropertyGuru and 99.co carry images that buyers describe as clearly inconsistent with the stated floor plan or renovation status.

Residents in Tampines and Bukit Merah have been vocal about the experience in community Facebook groups, describing wasted afternoons and, in a few cases, offer letters made on the basis of photographs that turned out to be inaccurate. One Bukit Merah resident who has been searching for a three-room flat since February described viewing four properties where at least one photograph appeared to be from a different unit. She eventually submitted a feedback report to the Council for Estate Agencies, the statutory body that regulates property agents in Singapore.

The Council for Estate Agencies, known as the CEA, has previously published guidelines requiring agents to ensure that marketing materials are accurate and not misleading. Its Professional Conduct Guidelines state that estate agents must not use images that misrepresent a property. Buyers and sellers who believe these rules have been broken can file a complaint through the CEA's online portal, and the council has the power to investigate and impose sanctions on errant agents.

What residents want done

For sellers, the frustration runs in a different direction. Several homeowners in Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang say they discovered their unit's interior photographs had been reused by agents marketing other properties in the same block, without permission. One seller in Sengkang said she recognised her own distinctive wallpaper in a listing for a flat two floors below hers — a flat that had been gutted and left bare ahead of sale.

Property technology companies operating in Singapore, including platforms integrated with HDB's resale portal, have introduced image-flagging tools in recent years, but residents say enforcement remains inconsistent. A listing can stay live for days before a complaint triggers review. In a market where popular units in areas like Queenstown or Toa Payoh attract dozens of enquiries within 48 hours of going live, a few days is enough time to mislead a significant number of prospective buyers.

The CEA updated its estate agency work guidelines in 2024 to tighten disclosure requirements, but community feedback suggests implementation on the ground is uneven. Buyers' rights advocates have called for portals to require agents to date-stamp photographs and declare whether images were taken before or after the most recent renovation, a practice already common in property markets in cities like London and Tokyo.

For anyone currently searching the HDB resale market, agents and consumer groups recommend requesting a video walkthrough before any physical viewing, cross-referencing listing photos against HDB's resale flat listings portal, and filing a complaint with the CEA if photographs appear to misrepresent a unit. Complaints can be submitted at cea.gov.sg, and the council has indicated it treats misrepresentation cases as a priority category under its enforcement framework.