With sentiment improving and transactions picking up at high-end condominiums, interest has also returned to the luxury condo segment. This is evident from the burst of activity at Hilltops by SC Global Developments in the quarter ended September, with five units sold. Three of the five transactions were done in September alone.
Two of the units sold were 2,390 sq ft, four-bedroom units on the 17th and 19th floors. They fetched $8 million ($3,348 psf) and $8.8 million ($3,691 psf) respectively. The other unit sold in September was a 1,593 sq ft, three-bedder located on the 18th floor. It went for $5.12 million ($3,214 psf).
The spate of transactions is not surprising, says Leong Boon Hoe, chief operating officer of luxury residential brokerage firm List Sotheby’s International Realty. “Many foreigners are revisiting Singapore’s luxury condo segment.” Indonesians, mainland Chinese and Malaysians continue to be among the most active foreign buyers in Singapore, adds Leong.
Three units at Hilltops were sold at prices ranging from $3,214 psf to $3,691 psf in September
Completed in 2011, Hilltops is the biggest condo project by SC Global in terms of the number of units (241) in Singapore. The project, located on Cairnhill Circle in prime District 9, comprises two- to five-bedroom units ranging from 807 to 2,874 sq ft. There is also a sole six-bedroom penthouse of 11,000 sq ft, and it comes with private lift access from the ground floor.
On Napier Road is the 46-unit 8 Napier. It is adjacent to Gleneagles Hospital and Medical Centre as well as the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Completed in 2010, it has seen very few units come on the market. Last year, just one unit changed hands: A 2,013 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the seventh floor fetched $6.44 million ($3,200 psf), according to a caveat lodged in January 2016. The unit was last purchased for $7.3 million ($3,630 psf) in December 2007, when the freehold project in prime District 10 was launched.
The latest transaction in September was also that of a 2,013 sq ft, three-bedroom unit, but located on the eighth floor. It was sold for $6.48 million ($3,221 psf). An earlier caveat lodged shows that the seller purchased the unit for $7.33 million ($3,642 psf) 10 years ago when the project was launched.
Bulk purchases have also picked up, according to Sotheby’s Leong. Prior to the launch of the Deferred Payment Scheme last month, Sotheby’s had brokered the sale of 14 units in the two blocks at Reflections at Keppel Bay held by Keppel Land as corporate residences. The units are located on the first level of one of the villa blocks, and on the sixth level of the neighbouring villa block. The buyer is said to be an overseas property fund, and the purchase price for the 14 units amounted to $33 million.
As the property market heats up, some developers have also withdrawn their unsold stock from the market in anticipation of higher prices. This was seen recently at Sky Habitat in Bishan, Le Quest in Bukit Batok and, earlier in March, when Park Place Residences at Paya Lebar Quarter sold half of its units and held the rest to be launched at a later date.
This article appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 801 (Oct 16, 2017).