On Oct 27, a four-bedroom unit at ultra-luxury condominium Sculptura Ardmore was sold for $12.4 million ($4,171 psf), according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. The 2,980 sq ft unit is located on the 10th floor of the freehold 36-storey development.
Developed by SC Global and completed in 2014, Sculptura Ardmore has 35 units. The four-bedroom units are 2,800 to 4,000 sq ft, and there are four units, between 4,200 and 10,300 sq ft, that come with cantilevered private pools. The condo was designed by acclaimed New York-based architect Carlos Zapata.
Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore
Meanwhile, just down the road is the 43-unit Le Nouvel Ardmore, developed by Wing Tai Holdings and designed by renowned French architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Jean Nouvel.
The latest transaction at the 33-storey tower, also completed in 2014, was for a 4,004 sq ft, four-bedroom unit that fetched $16.02 million ($4,000 psf) in August. All the units sold at Le Nouvel Ardmore were transacted at above the $4,000 psf threshold.
The exception was the 13,573 sq ft duplex penthouse, which fetched $51 million ($3,757 psf) in April 2015. The buyer was said to be Su Tongyu, one of the co-founders of Alibaba Group Holding.
Brand-new, freehold developments are rare at the moment, especially in the prime districts, says Dominic Lee, head of the luxury team at PropNex Realty. “Moving forward, the $4,000 psf price may soon be the new norm for ultra-high-end projects.”
Le Nouvel Ardmore, by Wing Tai Holdings
In fact, Sculptura Ardmore set a new benchmark not just for Ardmore Park but for the whole of Singapore when the 10,300 sq ft super-penthouse was sold at a record-breaking price of above $60 million, or $6,000 psf in August. The buyer is said to be Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook, who is now an angel investor based in Singapore.
SC Global, which also developed Hilltops on Cairnhill Circle and Seven Palms in Sentosa Cove, is known for setting price benchmarks in the ultra-luxury segment, notes PropNex’s Lee. Its The Marq on Paterson Hill set new price benchmarks during the last two property booms.