The family and dining room of the sky suite at St Regis Residences (Photo: Knight Frank)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - A 6,060 sq ft “sky suite” on the 21st floor of St Regis Residences Singapore will be put up for auction on Dec 8. The four-bedroom sky suite has an indicative price of $16 million ($2,640 psf). “This is the first receiver’s sale of a unit at St Regis Residences,” says Sharon Lee, head of auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore, who is jointly marketing the property with her colleague, assistant manager Karen Ker.
Read also: Four-bedroom unit at St Regis Residences for sale at $15.5 mil
In a receiver’s sale, the receivers are court-appointed individuals given custodial responsibility of a property by the court or lender (bank), according to Lee. “The receiver effectively takes control of all the as- sets and businesses involved in litigation and will continue to carry out necessary actions to preserve the assets of the receivership estate,” she explains.
Mortgagee sales, on the other hand, refer to properties that have been foreclosed and put on the market for sale by the bank, says Lee. This typically happens when a mortgagor is unable to make their mortgage payments, she adds.
The unit that is now on the market in a receiver’s sale is one of just seven sky suites at the luxury 173-unit, 999-year leasehold condo. It is also the largest of these three-bedroom sky suites, which range in size from about 4,300 to 6,060 sq ft.
The family room of the 6,060 sq ft sky suite on the 21st floor of one of the 23-storey towers (Photo: Knight Frank)
Developed jointly by City Developments Ltd (CDL), Hong Leong Holdings and TID, St Regis Residences was one of the first luxury hotel-branded residences launched in Singapore back in 2006. Completed in 2008, the two 23-storey residential towers are adjacent to the 299-room St Regis Singapore hotel. The residents of St Regis Residences enjoy on-demand services such as butler service, housekeeping or childcare services on top of the basic condo amenities.
“Today, it’s one of just four such residences affiliated with a well-known hotel brand in Singapore,” adds Lee.
Of the seven sky suites, three are simplexes, and four are duplexes. The 6,060 sq ft sky suite that is for sale is the largest of the three simplex- es and sits on the 21st floor of one tower. The other two simplexes are on the 20th and 21st floors of the adjacent tower. The four duplexes occupy the 18th and 19th floors as well as the 20th and 21st floors of both towers.
There are also seven penthouses spread across the 22nd and 23rd floors of both towers. These penthouses or “sky villas” have four bedrooms each and are sized from about 5,000 to 7,200 sq ft. The sky suites and sky villas are the largest units at St Regis Residences.
The 299-room St Regis Hotel (left) and the 173-unit St Regis Residences on Tanglin Road (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Typical units are a mix of three-bedroom apartments of 1,507 sq ft; three- bedroom-plus-family-room apartments with sizes from 1,959 to 2,594 sq ft; and four-bedroom apartments from 2,142 to 2,153 sq ft.
The latest transaction at St Regis Residences was for a 2,153 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 13th floor that changed hands for $6.45 million ($2,996 psf), according to a caveat lodged on Oct 26.
Before that, a 4,047 sq ft, duplex sky suite on the 20th floor changed hands for $10.469 million ($2,587 psf), according to a caveat lodged on Sept 19. According to Lee, the unit has an irregular shape and overlooks the hotel.
In comparison, the 6,060 sq ft sky suite that is for sale has a panoramic view of the Nassim Good Class Bungalow enclave, she points out.
According to a caveat lodged and a property title search, the previous owner of the 6,060 sq ft sky suite is an entity known as Dayspring Investments, registered in the British Virgin Islands. The unit was purchased in September 2010 for $14.21 million ($2,350 psf).
View of the Nassim Good Class Bungalow area (Photo: Knight Frank)
When the project was first launched in 2006, foreign interest had been “particularly strong”, given the international profile of St Regis, CDL and its joint-venture partners had said in a press release. Units were snapped up at prices ranging from $2,500 to $2,600 psf. About 65% of the purchasers were international buyers from the UK, US, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Prices soared to an all-time high in May 2007 when a 6,017 sq ft duplex penthouse on the 22nd floor changed hands in a sub-sale for $28 million ($4,653 psf), according to caveats lodged. It is still a record price both in absolute and psf terms for St Regis Residences to date.
The penthouse buyer was Japanese billionaire real estate developer, Katsumi Tada of Daisho Co. He subsequently sold it in March 2015 for $12.2 million ($2,028 psf) to Singaporean entrepreneur Andy Chua of Yun Nam Hair Care.
No stranger to paying record prices for penthouses, Tada was also the buyer of the grand penthouse at Park Lane Ala Moana, a condo in Honolulu, Hawaii. He reportedly paid US$23.5 million for the 6,273 sq ft, four-bedroom penthouse in December 2018.
Dry kitchen of the sky suite at St Regis Residences (Photo: Knight Frank)
The latest penthouse that changed hands at St Regis Residences was a 6,006 sq ft unit that fetched $14 million ($2,331 psf), according to a caveat lodged in December 2021.
St Regis Residences and St Regis Singapore are located in the prestigious District 10 enclave, bordered by Tanglin Road, Tomlinson Road and Cuscaden Road. The neighbourhood is being rejuvenated by other upcoming luxury hotels and residences such as Boulevard 88, a 154-unit luxury condo sitting on top of the 190-room Edition Hotel (developed jointly by CDL, Hong Leong Holdings and Lea Investments); the 142-room flagship Artyzen Hotel by Shun Tak Holdings; and the 54- unit luxury condo Park Nova, also by Shun Tak.
Existing luxury hotels in the area include Hotel Properties’ Four Seasons Hotel and Pontiac Land’s former Regent Hotel, which is being repositioned and rebranded as the Conrad Singapore Orchard.
Master bathroom of the sky suite at St Regis Residences (Photo: Knight Frank)
The new luxury residences in the surrounding area have been setting benchmark prices. At Boulevard 88, about 25 units were sold at an average price of $3,727 psf when the project was launched in March 2019. The largest of four penthouses, at 6,049 sq ft, fetched $31 million ($5,125 psf) in June 2019. The second biggest penthouse, at 6,028 sq ft, went for $29.53 million ($4,899 psf) in April 2019. The two remaining penthouses of 5,673 and 5,693 sq ft were sold at $28 million apiece, or around $4,936 psf and $4,927 psf, respectively.
All four penthouses achieved the highest psf and absolute price re- cords for Boulevard 88 when they were sold. To date, 87% of the units have been taken up, with the average price achieved at $4,160 psf, based on units sold and caveats lodged from January to November to date.
At the 54-unit Park Nova, 11 units were sold within the first month of its launch in May 2021. The average price achieved was $5,265 psf, pulled up by the record prices set by the three penthouses in the development that were sold within the first two weeks of launch. The largest penthouse of 5,899 sq ft was the first to be scooped up at $34.438 million ($5,838 psf). The second largest, at 4,499 sq ft, fetched $26.026 million ($5,784 psf), while the third, at 3,229 sq ft, was sold at $17.178 million ($5,320 psf). The penthouses achieved not only the highest psf prices but also the highest absolute prices in the development.
Walk-in wardrobe of the master suite (Photo: Knight Frank)
About 76% of the units at Park Nova have been sold, at an average price of $4,941 psf, according to caveats lodged to date. The two most recent units sold in August were identical three-bedroom units of 2,207 sq ft on the third and fourth floors. The units were priced at $10 million ($4,532 psf) each, and the buyer, a Singaporean, is believed to have purchased them with the intention of amalgamating them for his own use.
With these new luxury condos setting new benchmark prices, there could be some who are seeking value buys in the resale market, says Knight Frank’s Lee.
For those who desire large units, the 6,060 sq ft sky suite at St Regis Residences is equivalent to the penthouses in the new developments, notes Lee. The unit had been renovated and converted from a three-bedroom to a four-bedroom apartment by the previous owner.
If the potential buyer is interested in renting out the unit, the current market rent of such prime luxury District 9 units is about $30,000 to $35,000 per month, depending on the furnishing and fittings of the unit, estimates Lee. “The asking price of $16 million or $2,640 psf is attractive, compared to prices of recent luxury condos in the area,” she adds.
Check out the latest listings near St Regis Residences, Tanglin Road, Tomlinson Road, Cuscaden Road, Park Nova, Boulevard 88