A 2,756 sq ft apartment on the 24th floor of Hamilton Scotts was recently sold for $13.78 million, or $5,001 psf

A 2,831 sq ft unit on the 18th floor of The Ritz-Carlton Residences recently changed hands at $10.8 million, or $3,815 psf

A 1,335 sq ft apartment on the eighth floor of Hilltops was recently sold for $4 million, or $3,051 psf

 THE EDGE SINGAPORE, JULY 1, 2013

|BY ADELE TEO|

Based on caveats lodged from June 7 to 14, it looks like there was a spurt of transactions above $3,000 psf in the prime districts, with three transactions crossing the $5,000 psf threshold. Is it an indication that the luxury market is starting to show some signs of life?

There were three transactions at TwentyOne Angullia Park at prices ranging from $4,790 to $5,560 psf. Two units topped the $5,000 psf mark: a three- bedroom unit on the 33rd floor that fetched $5,560 psf and a penthouse of 7,718 sq ft that was sold for $5,099 psf. According to sources, a foreign buyer bought the two units, and even engaged the architect of the project, SCDA Architects, to make some modifications. The $5,560 psf price is the highest achieved not just in the project but in Singapore this year. These two latest deals bring the total number of sales at the development to eight. There are 54 units in TwentyOne Angullia Park, which is scheduled for completion late this year.

TwentyOne Angullia Park

At Hamilton Scotts, which boasts of being the only development in Southeast Asia where all apartments come with an en-suite garage, a unit was recently sold for $5,001 psf. The 2,756 sqft, three-bedroom unit on the 24th floor fetched $13.78 million. This is considered an all-time high for the luxury project that was completed last year and launched for sale in 2008. Prior to that, the last recorded transaction at Hamilton Scotts was for a similar-sized unit on the 20th floor that changed hands in a sub-sale for $9.37 million ($3,401 psf) in January. The unit was first sold in 2009 for $2,800 psf, according to URA Realis. However, in April this year, the project’s developer, KOP Properties, sold the remaining 36 units to Beijing-based Chinese conglomerate Reignwood Group through the disposal of shares of a company called Sardinia Properties, which owned the units. The seller of the recent unit that fetched $5,001 psf is therefore believed to be Reignwood Group.

Meanwhile, at Eden Residences Capitol, a 39- unit high-end condominium that is part of the Capitol Building redevelopment, two units were sold in May at a median price of $3,041 psf. This brings the total number of units sold in the project to 13.

“While the volume for high-end homes remains thin, transactions in TwentyOne Angullia Park, Eden Residences Capitol and Hamilton Scotts indicate that there is still interest in the luxury market,” says Joseph Tan, executive director of CBRE Residential. “Going by this, it would appear that buyers looking at premium properties would factor in the additional buyers’ stamp duty as part of the acquisition costs.”

In the Marina Bay area, a 2,045 sq ft unit on the 55th floor of the newly completed Marina Bay Suites was sold for $6.2 million, or $3,053 psf. The 221-unit luxury high-rise residential tower contains only three- and four-bedroom units and penthouses, a departure from most inner-city apartment developments that feature predominantly one- and two-bedroom units. As at end-May, 195 units (88%) of the units were sold. The development is part of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, developed jointly by Cheung Kong (Holdings), Hong kong Land and Keppel Land.

Marina Bay Suites

“Whether prices in the luxury market have softened is still inconclusive at this point,” says Nicholas Mak, executive director of research at SLP International. Based on data from URA and SLP Research, the average transaction prices of some projects in the prime districts have slipped, while those of others have gone up. This is partly because primary home sales in the prime districts have contracted in the last 18 months, shrinking to just 9% of total transaction volume compared with those in suburban projects, which account for 70% of total transaction volume.

Even in the secondary market, sales of units in the prime districts accounted for just 20% of the deals done since the property market recovered in 2H2009. “Regardless of whether it’s the primary or secondary market, demand in the high end segment is weaker than in the mass market segment,” Mak observes.

For instance, The Ritz-Carlton Residences on Cairnhill Road saw a 6% drop in average transaction price to $3,768 psf in 1H2013 from $4,012 psf in 2H2012, according to data from URA and SLP Research. The 58-unit Ritz-Carlton Residences was completed two years ago and its developer was KOP Properties. A 2,831 sq ft, three-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor was recently sold for $10.8 million, or $3,815 psf. Still, the price is nowhere near the record high of $5,146 psf achieved in December 2007, at the height of the last property boom. When the project was first launched then, prices achieved were in the range of $4,500 to $5,000 psf.

Located on Cairnhill Circle is the exclusive Hilltops. SLP Research and URA shows that the average transaction price at Hilltops has dropped about 19% from $3,990 psf in 1H2012 to $3,226 psf in 2H2012, and fallen another 9.8% in 1H2013 to $2,911 psf. A 1,335 sq ft apartment on the eighth floor of Hilltops was recently sold for $4 million, or $3,051 psf. The 240-unit freehold luxury-condo project by SC Global Developments was completed in 2011. In late 2007, at the height of the last property boom, which was driven by the luxury market, prices at Hilltops ranged from $3,501 psf to a high of $4,812 psf.

According to Samuel Eyo, director of Savills’ Prestige Homes, “the market will only soften if there are major changes, such as a significant rise in interest rates or new property-cooling measures”. He says he doesn’t foresee developers with unsold units lowering their selling prices drastically. “In fact, the last few government land sales saw active bidding; for instance, at the prime site on Coronation Road, which suggests that the market is still robust.