At Le Nouvel Ardmore, Wing Tai Holdings’ 43-unit ultra-luxury condominium project, a unit was recently sold for $15.17 million ($4,005 psf), according to a caveat lodged on March 14. The 3,789 sq ft, four-bedroom unit is on the 23rd floor of the 33-storey tower designed by renowned French architect and Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel.
The last transaction prior to this was in June 2016, when a four-bedroom unit of 5,242 sq ft on the seventh floor was sold to a foreign buyer, believed to be an Indonesian tycoon, for $21 million ($4,006 psf).
The most eye-popping transaction at Le Nouvel was the sale of the duplex penthouse of 13,875 sq ft for $51 million. The buyer was said to be Sun Tongyu, a mainland Chinese tycoon who is now a Singapore permanent resident and general partner of Venturecraft Group and the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange, one of the few commodity exchanges in the world for physically settled diamonds. Sun is one of the founding members of Alibaba and Taobao, an e-commerce marketplace.
The 43-unit Le Nouvel Ardmore (centre) and the neighbouring Nouvel 18 (left) were designed by French architect Jean Nouvel
The penthouse includes a 5,000 sq ft roof terrace. Its $51 million price tag translated to $3,676 psf, based on total floor area. In terms of absolute price, it is still considered a record- breaking transaction for a condo unit today.
Completed in 2014, Le Nouvel Ardmore contains only three- and four-bedroom units from about 3,800 sq ft.
“Le Nouvel appeals to buyers with deep pockets who are looking for a luxurious and spacious unit in the most prestigious location in the prime district,” says Samuel Eyo, managing director of Singapore Christie’s International Real Estate.
In recent weeks, there has been a handful of transactions elsewhere in the Ardmore Park neighbourhood. Last month saw a 2,885 sq ft, four-bedroom unit at the neighbouring Ardmore Park condo change hands for $8.9 million (3,085 psf). The seller purchased the unit in August 1996 for $5.4 million ($1,876 psf) when the project was launched. Developed by Wheelock Properties and completed in 2001, the 330- unit freehold Ardmore Park Condo was — and still is — regarded as the barometer for the luxury residential market.
Wheelock’s other project in Ardmore Park, the 84-unit Ardmore Three, saw five units sold at prices ranging from $6.06 million ($3,389 psf) to $7.07 million ($3,981 psf) in February. The project, completed in 2015, contains three-bedroom units of about 1,800 sq ft.
This article appeared in The Edge Property Pullout, Issue 772 (Mar 27, 2017) of The Edge Singapore.