Buzz continues in luxe housing sector

Recent deals include a penthouse at The Nassim, a Sentosa Cove bungalow and a Leedon Park site

June 20, 2017

Kalpana Rashiwala


THE Singapore luxury housing market continues to see a buzz of activity.

Recent deals include the S$40.88 million sale of a 31,211 sq ft freehold site in the Leedon Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area, understood to have been picked up by Raffles Medical Group executive chairman Loo Choon Yong. The price works out to S$1,310 psf on land.

In Sentosa Cove, a low-profile Chinese tycoon in the mining and natural resources sector is selling a sea-facing bungalow along Cove Grove for S$16.6 million or S$1,707 psf based on the land area of 9,725 sq ft.

The seller will incur a loss on the property facing the Southern Islands; he had bought it in 2012 for nearly S$24 million from Fragrance Group boss Koh Wee Meng.

In the luxe-condo sector, the Mukhtar family, which controls Allied Bank in Pakistan, is understood to be buying a penthouse in the five-storey The Nassim for S$25.58 million.

The price reflects S$2,750 psf on the strata area of 9,300 sq ft, which includes a pool deck and swiming pool on the rooftop, along with five car park lots in the basement.

The five-bedroom unit was sold by the developer of the freehold project, Nassim Hill Realty; earlier this year, CapitaLand sold its entire equity in the company to Wee Cho Yaw's Kheng Leong Company.

Inclusive of the recent penthouse sale at The Nassim, the tally for private apartment and condo deals of S$10 million and above so far this year stands at 19 units, totalling S$262.2 million, said Savills Research & Consultancy.

For the whole of last year, 36 deals were sealed for a total S$487.7 million.

CBRE Research's analysis shows that inclusive of the Leedon Park sale, there have been 18 transactions in GCB Areas, adding up to S$363.3 million in the year to date.

This puts it in line with the momentum last year, when there were 37 sales totalling S$788.5 million.

The waterfront housing district of Sentosa Cove is also experiencing encouraging deals flow, with caveats lodged for seven bungalow purchases in the year to date, totalling S$102.7 million, based on CBRE's figures.

This puts it ahead of last year's caveats tally of four deals worth S$64.5 million.

That said, there was also a bulk transaction last year for the sale of the remaining 10 bungalows on Sentosa Cove's Pearl Island, structured through the sale of the entire equity of the company that developed the 19-villa project; that transaction valued the 10 villas at about S$125 million.

Landed homes in Sentosa Cove have a 99-year leasehold tenure.

In the latest deal along Cove Grove, the buyer is a Singaporean married to a permanent resident (PR). They own a fund management firm. The Business Times understands that they intend to live in the bungalow with their family.

The villa, with a built-up area of about 8,000 sq ft spanning two levels and an attic, comes with a private lift, eight bedrooms and a sea-facing pool.

The sale was brokered by Steve Tay, senior vice-president of the resale division at CBRE Realty Associates.

He noted that the vast majority of bungalow deals on Sentosa Cove this year have involved buyers who are Singaporeans or PRs and who plan to live in the property, which doubles as a long-term investment.

Industry observers say the 15 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) levied on foreigners buying any residential property here since January 2013 has weakened the investment case for them to buy landed homes in Sentosa Cove - still the only place in the Republic where foreigners (whether PRs or not) are eligible to seek approval to buy a landed home.

Mr Tay said: "However, foreigners who see themselves based here in the long-term - whether for business or family reasons - are still looking to buy homes.

"In such cases, they see obtaining Singapore PR status and, in some cases, Singapore citizenship, as a more tax-effective way to own a property."

The ABSD rate for PRs is 5 per cent on their first Singapore residential property purchase, and 10 per cent for their second and subsequent purchases.

Singapore citizens are exempt from ABSD on their first purchase; they pay 7 per cent on their second purchase and 10 per cent for their third and subsequent properties.

Mr Tay estimates that on average, most bungalow transactions in Sentosa Cove this year have been at prices 30 to 40 per cent off 2010's peak levels.

The Leedon Park property that Dr Loo has bought is a chunk of the 46,879 sq ft site that was put on the market last September by former Singatronics chairman Eddie Foo Chik Kin and his wife Kwan Chang Choo.

On the plot that Dr Loo is buying is a 25-year-old two-storey bungalow with three bedrooms. JLL brokered the sale.

The swimming pool and part of the gardens are on the remaining 15,668 sq ft of land, which has been carved into a second plot. This is now on the market with a price tag of S$25 million or S$1,596 psf.

JLL is also marketing this site by private treaty.