S$16.5 million deal at The Ritz-Carlton Residences tops Q1 gainers; seller reaps S$4.9 million profit

Five biggest money-making transactions by quantum in Q1 are in prime Core Central Region

Apr 23, 2024

THE sale of a 3,057 square foot (sq ft) unit at The Ritz-Carlton Residences Singapore, Cairnhill was the most profitable resale deal in absolute terms in the first quarter of 2024, giving the seller a tidy S$4.9 million gain.

According to data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, the 33rd floor unit at the freehold luxury development in District 9 was sold for S$16.5 million or S$5,397 per square foot (psf) in January. That was the first time since June 2023 that prices in the prime residential market crossed the S$5,000 psf mark, BT had earlier reported.

The seller reaped a gain of S$4.9 million or 42 per cent over the initial purchase price of S$11.6 million (S$3,795 psf).

Based on a holding period of nearly eight years, the seller made an annualised profit of 4.5 per cent.

The data also showed that the five biggest money-making transactions by quantum in Q1 were all sales in Singapore’s prime Core Central Region (CCR). This was by virtue of the relatively higher prices and transacted units sizes in the area, said Cushman & Wakefield head of research Wong Xian Yang.

Of the five, four were freehold properties, which tend to command a premium, he pointed out.

Q1 data showed that the biggest losers in the quarter – by both percentage gain and quantum – were also mainly prime properties. The largest loss-making deals shed between SS$381,000 and S$983,555 in value on resale. These units were bought during “varying periods of the market cycle”, he said.

CCR transactions also topped loss-making deals in the past two quarters. Losses ranged from S$281,000 to S$2.39 million in Q4 2023, and from S$267,000 to S$700,000 in Q3.

The deal that spilled the most red ink in Q1, in terms of quantum and percentage, was a 936 sq ft unit at freehold condo Robinson Suites in District 1. It was transacted for S$1.8 million or S$1,922 psf in January. This was 35 per cent lower than its original price of S$2.78 million (S$2,972 psf) in May 2013. Based on a holding period of 10.7 years, this translates to annualised losses of 4 per cent.

In terms of percentage gains, executive condominium (EC) transactions proved to be most profitable in Q1, continuing a trend that emerged in Q1 2023.

The top five most profitable resale deals were for units sold at Treasure Crest EC, where sellers doubled their money, making between S$716,000 and S$921,000.

The five 99-year leasehold units in Sengkang, in District 19, were held for an average of around eight years before being sold for an “attractively high profit” of 98 per cent to 106 per cent, said Wong.

Topping the list was a 1,249 sq ft Treasure Crest unit, which was sold for S$1.79 million or S$1,434 psf in January. This was 106 per cent more than the unit’s original price of S$869,000 (S$696 psf) in July 2016. Given the holding period of 7.5 years, the annualised profit worked out to 10.2 per cent.



Excluding ECs, four of the five top percentage gainers were for units in the suburban Outside Central Region (OCR). The most profitable deal by percentage was for a unit in the city fringe, or Rest of Central Region (RCR).

The 1,346 sq ft unit at freehold condo Eastwind Mansions along Joo Chiat Terrace in District 15 was sold for slightly more than S$2 million (S$1,487 psf) in March. The seller grossed S$900,888 in profit or 82 per cent over its original price of S$1.1 million (S$818 psf) in April 2017, translating to an annualised profit of 9.1 per cent based on a holding period of 6.9 years.

For its study, Cushman & Wakefield examined caveats for non-landed private homes that were transacted in Q1 2024 with a prior purchase history between January 2012 and March 2024. The analysis excluded transaction costs and taxes, such as buyer stamp duty and seller stamp duty.

Overall, prime CCR properties accounted for 55 per cent of loss-making deals in the first quarter of this year, according to caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes. The RCR accounted for 36 per cent of such deals, and the OCR 9 per cent.



Wong noted, however, that even though the CCR saw a larger share of loss-making deals, the majority of CCR sales – at 84 per cent – were profitable.

He also reckoned that the proportion of loss-making deals in the landed and non-landed sectors – at 2.8 per cent in Q1 – has remained low due to property owners’ strong holding power and resilient local demand. These were “supported by still-low unemployment rates and strong household balance sheets”, he said.

Although “buyer affordability remains weighed down” and buyer resistance is likely to grow due to still-high interest rates and elevated housing prices, Wong predicts that overall levels of loss-making deals will remain low in the coming quarters.

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