JadeScape (D20, 99 years leasehold, Qingjian Realty)

After five years, Jadescape owner sells unit for S$4.4 million, surpassing Q4 resale gains

The majority of condo purchasers who spend S$10 million or more are long-term residents.

January 21, 2025

CONDOsingapore.com

The most profitable deal by quantum in the fourth quarter of 2024 was the sale of a 4,230 square foot (sq ft) apartment at Jadescape in Bishan, which brought in S$10.2 million in December 2024, giving the seller a healthy profit of S$4.4 million.

Back in December 2019, the penthouse unit at the 99-year leasehold condominium in District 20 was purchased for almost half that amount, at S$5.8 million, or S$1,371 per square foot (psf). This is in line with data analysed by Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate consultancy.

In December 2024, the unit sold for S$2,399 per square foot.

According to Wong Xian Yang, research head at Cushman & Wakefield, this resulted in the project's highest transaction price as of January 20 and the second-highest price on a psf basis. Jadescape's overall median prices increased by about 25% from S$1,739 in 2020 to S$2,184 psf in 2024.

Over a five-year holding period, the annualised profit comes to 11.9%. Between Q4 2019 and Q3 2024, the seller's gross gain was approximately 75%, more than twice the 33% increase in the private residential price index as a whole.

In 2024, only 36 non-landed residential transactions—excluding executive condos (ECs)—were valued at more than S$10 million, according to caveats data. According to Wong, these transactions made up about 0.2% of all non-landed home transactions in the previous year.

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He added that of the 36 transactions, four were in the city fringe, or Rest of Central Region, and the remaining ones were in the prime Core Central Region (CCR).

Wong noted that permanent residents accounted for 56% of the buyers in these transactions. Approximately 28% of purchasers were Singaporeans, with foreigners and businesses making up the remaining 16%.

Following a trend that began in Q1 2023, EC transactions were once again the most profitable in terms of percentage gains in the last quarter of 2024.

The homeowners who kept their units for an average of almost ten years were the biggest winners, with profits ranging from 112 to 122%, according to Wong.

A 958 square foot apartment at the Hundred Palms Residences EC, a 99-year leasehold complex on Yio Chu Kang Road in District 19, topped the list. In December 2024, it sold for S$1.8 million, or S$1,900 per square foot. This represented a 122% increase over the unit's July 2017 initial price of S$818,300 (S$854 psf). Considering the 7.4-year holding period, the annualised profit came to 11.3%.

Three of the top five percentage gainers, excluding ECs, were for suburban Outside Central Region (OCR) units, with the other two coming from the RCR. In terms of percentage, a freehold Rising Court apartment in the RCR was the most lucrative transaction.

A 2,530 square foot unit at freehold Orchard View was the largest loser by quantum in Q4 when it came to loss-making transactions. In October 2024, the District 9 unit was sold for S$7 million, or S$2,767 per square foot. Its initial price of S$8.1 million (S$3,220 psf) in June 2012 was 14% higher than this.

This corresponds to yearly losses of 1.2% based on a 12.3-year holding period.

An 861 square foot apartment at Altez at Enggor Street in District 2 was the deal that, by percentage, spilt the most red ink. In October 2024, it sold for S$1.5 million (S$1,777 psf), a 27% decrease from its July 2012 sale price of S$2.1 million (S$2,419 psf). With a 12.3-year holding period, that translates to annualised losses of 2.5%.

With the exception of one, nearly all of the largest losers in Q4 were bought at different stages of the market cycle and were situated in the CCR, according to Wong. Half were 99-year leasehold properties, and the other half were freehold properties.

Caveats for non-landed private homes that were purchased in Q4 2024 and had a previous purchase history between January 2012 and December 2024 were the focus of Cushman & Wakefield's investigation.

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Transaction fees and taxes, including buyer and seller stamp duties, were not included in the analysis.

Overall, according to caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes, 53% of loss-making transactions in Q4 2024 involved prime CCR properties. Of these transactions, 28% were made by the RCR and 19% by the OCR.

Wong emphasised that the majority of sales—81 percent—were profitable, despite the fact that the CCR was responsible for the majority of deals that resulted in losses.

Additionally, the percentage of deals in the landed and non-landed sectors that resulted in losses increased marginally from 2.6% in Q3 and Q2 to 3.3% in Q4.

However, Wong pointed out that this percentage is still low, particularly in comparison to prior years when there were more of these transactions, at 4.1% or higher. After reaching a peak of 21.8% in Q2 2020, it has been declining rather steadily ever since.

Wong predicts that, absent new cooling measures and unanticipated economic shocks, the total number of deals that result in losses will stay low this year. "Although buyer affordability has been somewhat increased by declining mortgage rates, additional affordability gains in 2025 may be restrained as the rate of interest rate reductions is anticipated to slow."

Additionally, private home prices are stable; according to Wong, they will rise by about 3% annually in 2025. He attributed this to the robust demand for private housing upgrades in the face of stable household balance sheets and low unemployment rates.