Skywaters Residences unit sold for S$47.34 million or S$6,100 psf, marking new record for 99-year projects

While the deal is not the highest psf-priced sale to be transacted in Singapore, psf prices have not crossed the S$6,000 mark since October 2022

May 31, 2024

A VERY large luxury apartment on the 57th floor of new project Skywaters Residences was sold in May for S$47.34 million, or S$6,100 per square foot (psf), marking a record-high price for a 99-year leasehold property in psf terms.

While the deal at the Shenton Way project is not the highest psf-priced sale to be transacted in the Singapore market, psf prices have not crossed the S$6,000 mark since October 2022. That was when an 11,227 square foot (sq ft) unit at freehold Les Maisons Nassim was sold for S$6,057 psf or S$68 million.

To date, a 3,089 sq ft unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill holds the record for the highest psf transaction at S$6,650 psf, in a sale sealed almost 13 years ago in November 2011. That year was the first time residential prices topped S$6,000 psf, with two deals at freehold The Marq on Paterson Hill raising eyebrows. One unit sold for S$6,215 psf (S$19.2 million) in August 2011, and was followed by the one that closed in November at S$6,650 psf (S$20.5 million).

Based on caveat data, the Skywaters Residences unit has a floor area of 7,761 sq ft. Marketing materials for the downtown project, which has yet to be officially launched, indicate that units range from one- to four-bedders. The developer is said to have held a private viewing in May for some clients.

“Since January 1995, there have been 49 transactions of non-landed homes at S$5,000 psf or higher, with only a handful of deals priced at S$6,000 psf or higher,” said Ngiam Juyong, project director at Huttons Asia.



The Business Times understands that the unit at Skywaters Residences was bought by a foreigner, whose nationality is not known. The 215-unit luxury project is being built by a consortium led by Perennial on the site of the former AXA Tower, which housed the offices of Chinese tech giant Alibaba. The other partners include Alibaba Singapore, Chip Eng Seng, Sing-Haiyi Emerald, Piermont Holdings and HPRY Holdings.

Expected to be completed in 2028, the condominium is part of a larger mixed-use development that is 63 storeys high. The 118,230 sq ft site will also house retail space, offices and a hotel.

Huttons expects transactions in the luxury non-landed home market to increase in the coming quarters. The agency also observed that the number of purchases by foreigners has been creeping up steadily in recent months, after drying up last year due to a steep hike in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty levied on foreigners buying residential property here.

Based on caveats filed, the number of purchases by foreigners jumped more than 80 per cent to 20 in April from 11 in March. Purchases in the prime Core Central Region (CCR) rose to 13 in April, from eight in the previous month, said Huttons Asia. “The geopolitical tensions around the world are pushing some ultra-high-net-worth-individuals to consider relocating to safe havens like Singapore,” Ngiam added.

Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed that the price growth of properties in the CCR outpaced that of other regions in the first quarter of 2024. Prices in the CCR rose 3.1 per cent, more than the 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent gains in the Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region, respectively. Overall, private home prices rose 1.5 per cent in Q1, slower than the 2.8 per cent increase in the preceding quarter.

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