SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - In 2022, there was a smaller number of penthouse deals compared to 2021 due to the lack of new luxury condo project launches. Seven of the top 10 luxury condo deals by psf price in 2022 were at Les Maisons Nassim. The bottom three were a 22nd-floor unit at Boulevard 88 ($4,924 psf), a third-floor unit at The Nassim ($4,915 psf) and a 17th-floor unit at Ardmore Park ($4,881 psf).

Read also: Unit at Les Maisons Nassim sold for $6,073 psf

In 2021, Les Maisons Nassim accounted for four of the top 10 condo deals by psf price, while Park Nova penthouses accounted for another three. The remaining three of the top 10 deals in 2021 were the super penthouses at CanningHill Piers ($5,360 psf), Eden ($6,024 psf, which was also the second highest in psf terms last year) and Klimt Cairnhill ($5,309 psf) respectively.

Sizes of the top 10 transactions in 2022 were 2.4% smaller than those in 2021, according to Han Huan Mei, director of research at List Sotheby’s International Realty. The average price per unit of the top 10 transactions in 2022 was about 4% lower than the average price in 2021, she adds.

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The average psf price for the top 10 luxury condo transactions in 2022 was 6.7% lower than that achieved in 2021. List Sotheby’s Han attributes this to the higher price points of new luxury condominium projects launched last year.

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The biggest condo deal on a psf basis in 2021 was the 7,500 sq ft super penthouse at Les Maisons Nassim that was sold for $75 million or $6,210 psf in October 2021.

The second biggest penthouse at Les Maisons Nassim, at 12,066 sq ft, rang in at $59.77 million in March 2022. making it the second biggest deal based on absolute price. At $4,953 psf, the penthouse was the lowest psf price transacted at Les Maisons Nassim since Shun Tak Holdings launched the project in May last year. It was ranked seventh among the top 10 on a psf basis this year. There are only 14 units at Les Maisons Nassim, with units starting from 6,057 sq ft.

The third and smallest penthouse at Les Maisons Nassim, sized at 11,227 sq ft, fetched $68 million in October this year. At $6,057 psf, it was the highest condo deal in 2022 on a psf basis.

In 2022, prices of luxury condos in the resale market also soared, with three of them making it to the top 10 list. The $4,881 psf achieved by the unit at Ardmore Park in July 2022 was the highest psf price achieved in the 330-unit freehold condominium development, which was launched in June 1996 and completed in 2001.

At The Nassim, a 4,069 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the third floor of the five-storey, low-rise development was sold for $20 million in May this year. At $4,915 psf, it was a record price for the 55-unit luxury condo completed in 2015. “It’s a record high for a non-penthouse unit in the development,” says List Sotheby’s Han.

At Boulevard 88, a 2,799 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 22nd floor of the 28-storey, luxury residential twin towers was sold for $13.78 million ($4,836 psf) in December. It was a sub-sale, with the previous owner purchasing the unit in July 2019 for $10.32 million ($3,688 psf). The 154-unit Boulevard 88 is a twin-tower residential development sitting on top of the eight-storey, 190-room The Singapore Edition hotel.

Recognising the demand for large units, some developers are prepared to offer selected units for sale to those who intend to amalgamate them or for family members who want to live close to each other in the same condo. This was seen at the 54-unit Park Nova by Shun Tak Holdings and the 558-unit Midtown Modern, where developer GuocoLand launched a Sky Bungalow Collection in July this year.

At Park Nova,  two four-bedroom units on the third and fourth levels with a combined strata area of 4,413 sq ft were sold for $20 million ($4,532 psf) in August 2022. The buyer is a Singaporean who intends to amalgamate the two units into a duplex.

Another two 1,432 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the 10th and 11th floors of Park Nova were sold for $6.434 million ($4,494 psf) and $6.504 million ($4,541 psf), respectively, at the end of November, according to URA Realis. These were purchased by family members who want to live close to each other.

At Midtown Modern, six pairs of units were launched for sale under the Sky Bungalow Collection in July 2022. The first units sold were two 1,808 sq ft, four-bedroom units on levels 29 and 30 that fetched  $17 million in total. At $4,700 psf, the units achieved the highest psf price in the development to date.

In August, a 1,808 sq ft four-bedroom unit on the 11th floor of Midtown Modern and another 1,808 sq ft unit on the 12th floor were purchased for $4.72 million ($2,610 psf) and $4.76 million ($2,632 psf) respectively. The units were said to be purchased by family members who wanted to live close to each other. These units are not part of the Sky Bungalow Collection.

A number of mixed-use developments with high-end residences in the downtown area of the Core Central Region (CCR) are scheduled for launch in 2023. “They may offer penthouses with high price tags,” notes List Sotheby’s Han. One of them is the redevelopment of the 200-unit 8 Shenton Way (former AXA Tower) by a consortium led by Perennial Holdings and Alibaba Group, which is poised to be the tallest skyscraper in Singapore. Another is the 246-unit Newport Residences (former FujiXerox Towers) by City Developments Ltd.

In the pipeline for launch is the 686-unit Marina View condo by IOI Properties. It sits on a white site at Marina View, which IOI purchased in a government land sale for $1.508 billion in September 2021. The future mixed-use development will include a hotel.

“Investors are also looking for big units, which are generally lacking in supply,” says Han. “The UHNW [ultra-high net worth] foreign investors are attracted to these luxury projects as there are no ownership restrictions and are considered safe investments.”

According to Bruce Lye, co-founder and managing partner of SRI, more Chinese buyers have entered the Singapore luxury residential market, including those who are already here as Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs). “Some of the foreigners and PRs were previously renting a home,” he says. “With rents having shot through the roof or even doubled in some cases, these PRs feel that it’s better to buy a home now than to rent.”

Growing risks of a global recession, stubbornly high interest rates, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine may lead to reduced investments by external investors, says Lewis Cha, executive director of List Sotheby’s International Realty.

However, the cooling measures put in place by the Singapore government have been an effective buffer to counter over-leveraging. “The residential market may slow down in 2023 with some possible price correction, but local homeowners should be able to stay afloat and service their loan commitments,” says Cha.

Check out the latest listings near Les Maisons Nassim, Boulevard 88, The Nassim, Park Nova, Martin Modern, Marina View, Newport Residences, CanningHill Piers, Eden, Klimt Cairnhill, Ardmore Park, Midtown Modern

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