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Unit at Nassim Jade sinks to $2,086 psf

By hockmeng.tay@bizedge.com

March 29, 2015 12:00 AM SGT

In the prestigious Nassim Road area, an enclave of low-rise luxury condominiums and Good Class Bungalows (GCBs), a recent transaction has brought sentiment in the luxury market to a new low. It was for the sale of a third-floor unit in the four-storey boutique condo block, Nassim Jade.

The 2,325 sq ft, four-bedroom unit changed hands for $4.85 million ($2,086 psf), according to a caveat lodged on March 12. That same unit fetched $4.9 million ($2,108 psf) in February 2011, hence the owner suffered a loss of about $50,000. The buyers are believed to be an expatriate couple who had been tenants in a neighbouring unit. While the loss suffered by the seller may not be significant, the average price of $2,086 psf “is quite shocking”, according to Ku Swee Yong, CEO of Century 21, as it is 15.4% lower than that of the last transaction, which was for a four-bedroom, 2,110 sq ft unit one floor below that changed hands for $5.2 million ($2,465 psf) in 2012. The average price of $2,465 psf was also the highest the project has seen to date. There had not been any transaction at Nassim Jade over two years because most of the buyers are long-term investors, he notes.

The 39-unit Nassim Jade was developed by Hotel Properties Ltd and was launched in mid-1995 with prices starting from $1,500 psf. The project was completed 18 years ago, in 1997. As such, its unit layout and design specifications are not comparable with those of newer condos in the neighbourhood: For instance, Nassim Park Residences, Beaufort on Nassim and Sage, reckons Samuel Eyo, managing director of Singapore Christie’s Homes.

Prices of those condos are still holding up above $3,000 psf. Prior to the transaction at Nassim Jade, the last recorded transaction of a condo unit in the area was at Beaufort on Nassim, where a 1,367 sq ft, third-floor unit was sold for $4.25 million ($3,109 psf) in February. Beaufort on Nassim, a boutique low-rise condo with just 30 units, was developed by Hong Kong group HKR International. It was completed in 2008.

The two newest condos on Nassim Road are the 100-unit Nassim Park Residences and the neighbouring 33-unit Sage, which were completed in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Nassim Park Residences, which was jointly developed by UOL Group, Kheng Leong and Orix Capital, is fully sold. The most recent transaction was the resale of a 3,477 sq ft, fourth-level unit for $13.7 million ($3,940 psf) last December.

At Sage, developed by Hong Leong Group, about one-third of the units have been sold. The most recent recorded transaction was for a 4,564 sq ft, four-bedroom penthouse that fetched $16.38 million ($3,589 psf) in 2013.

“The outlook for luxury condos over the next two years is not going to get any better,” says Century 21’s Ku. He attributes this to the slower pace of increase in the number of new citizens and permanent residents in Singapore. The Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 15% for foreigners is also keeping overseas high-net-worth investors at bay.

This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 670 (Mar 30) of The Edge Singapore.

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