RES exam Paper 2: what you need to know
Paper 2 is the “on the ground” paper. It tests how the industry is regulated, how property is marketed and sold, and how real transactions work — HDB and private, sale and lease, plus the taxes and financial calculations you’ll do daily as a salesperson.
What Paper 2 focuses on
If Paper 1 is about the legal rules, Paper 2 is about applying them to transactions. Questions mix regulation (what a salesperson may and may not do) with procedure (how an HDB sale works, how private property completes) and numbers (stamp duty, loan-to-value, property taxes). The case-study section in Paper 2 is the part many candidates find hardest because one scenario can touch several regulatory layers at once.
Competency Unit 3: regulation of the industry & real estate marketing
- 3.1 Regulation of the real estate agency industry
- 3.2 Role and functions of salespersons and their requisite knowledge and skills
- 3.3 Principles of real estate marketing
- 3.4 Types of listing
- 3.5 Methods of sale
- 3.6 Regulations on advertisements
- 3.7 Marketing of residential property
- 3.8 Marketing of commercial property
- 3.9 Marketing of industrial property
- 3.10 Marketing of special properties
- 3.11 Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act
Competency Unit 4: property transactions
- 4.1 Sale of uncompleted private properties
- 4.2 Sale of completed private properties
- 4.3 Collective sale of private properties
- 4.4 Sale of HDB flats
- 4.5 Leasing of private properties
- 4.6 Renting out HDB flats / bedrooms
- 4.7 Foreign worker housing
- 4.8 Taxes on property
- 4.9 Property finance and financial calculations
The calculation questions
Paper 2 is where the maths lives. You’ll be expected to work with the figures that matter in Singapore property transactions, including:
- Stamp duties — Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), and Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD), including who pays and when.
- Loan-to-value (LTV) limits and downpayment requirements.
- Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR).
- Property taxes — owner-occupier vs non-owner-occupier rates and how annual value is used.
- Commissions and fees — how agency commission and disbursements are calculated.
Paper 2 study priorities
- Master the HDB and private transaction flows — eligibility, resale procedure, timelines, and the differences between uncompleted and completed private property sales.
- Drill the calculations every week. Stamp duty, LTV, TDSR/MSR, and property tax should feel automatic by exam day.
- Know the marketing and advertising rules cold — CPFTA and the advertising regulations are a rich source of MCQ “gotcha” questions.
- Practise multi-layer case studies. Paper 2 case studies combine regulation, procedure, and numbers, so rehearse scenarios rather than isolated facts.