A four-bedroom unit on the second floor of one of the 18-storey blocks at Grange Residences was recently sold for $4.8 million, according to a caveat lodged on March 10 with URA Realis. The transacted price translates to $1,930 psf, the lowest per-sq-ft price in the development since May 2009, when a 2,583 sq ft, four-bedroom unit changed hands for $4.6 million ($1,781 psf).

A unit at Grange Residences was sold for $4.8 million ($1,930 psf).

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Despite the seven-year-low per-sq-ft price, the seller of the 2,486 sq ft unit still made a profit of $1.9 million as he was one of the early buyers of the freehold luxury project when Wheelock Properties first previewed it in September 2002. He paid $2.9 million ($1,166 psf) for the property. The 164-unit project located at the corner of Grange Road and Tanglin was completed in 2004 and fully sold. According to Adeline Koh, team director of PropNex Realty, the unit had been on the market for almost six months before it was sold. “The seller, believed to be a foreigner, wanted to cash out to reinvest elsewhere,” she says. The unit was attractively priced as it was on a low floor, just above the drop-off point, she adds.

Grange Residences has been a favourite among both high-net-worth investors and owner-occupiers owing to the sizeable units — they are all four-bedrooms, from 2,486 to 2,852sq ft. The project comprises two adjacent 18-storey blocks and a low-rise eight-storey block.

At The Ladyhill on Ladyhill Road, a five-bedroom penthouse was sold for $6.9 million, according to a caveat lodged on March 14. The $6.9 million sale price translated to $1,796 psf, also the lowest per-sq-foot price since May 2009, when a neighbouring penthouse fetched $6.5 million ($1,706 psf).

However, the recent seller of the penthouse at The Ladyhill still saw a capital gain as the unit was purchased for $6.2 million ($1,613 psf) a decade ago. According to PropNex’s Koh, the unit looks directly into the serviced apartments at Shangri-La Residences, and that could account partly for the lower price psf.

In February, Koh brokered the sale of a neighbouring penthouse of an identical size for $7.4 million ($1,926 psf). Another similar-sized penthouse was sold in January for $7 million ($1,822 psf).

The Ladyhill is a 55-unit freehold boutique luxury condo by SC Global Developments and was completed in 2002.

Just a short drive away on Orange Grove Road is the 60-unit high-end condo Orange Grove Residences. A 2,250 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the third floor of one of the four low riseblocks was sold for $3.85 million ($1,711 psf), according to a caveat lodged on March 11. The previous owner had purchased the unit for $4.7 million ($2,088 psf) in February 2007, when the project first previewed.

The latest transacted price of $1,711psf is also the second-lowest seen in the development following the sale of a 2,422 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the first level that changed hands for $4 million ($1,652 psf) in January. The previous owner had incurred a loss of $1.1 million, having paid $5.094 million ($2,103 psf) for the unit in February 2007, according to caveats lodged. The freehold condo by developer Ho Bee Land was completed in 2009.

This article appeared in the City & Country, Issue 721 (March 28, 2016) of The Edge Singapore.