A four-bedroom unit on the 27th floor of The Tate Residences has posted the greatest loss for condominiums and apartments so far this year, according to URA caveats. It is also an all-time record loss of $3.3 million (29%) for units transacted at the condo.
The 3,229 sq ft unit changed hands for $8 million ($2,477 psf) on April 25. This translates into a 3% annualised loss for the owner over a holding period of 10.7 years.
The seller had purchased the unit in August 2007 for $11.3 million ($3,500 psf) when the development was still under construction.
According to Dominic Lee, head of the luxury team at PropNex Realty, “the unit has one of the most interesting layouts in the condo”.
In 2007, the luxury property market was experiencing a bull run, and many who purchased properties at that time “are currently still underwater”, notes Lee. He sees the recent transaction at The Tate Residences “as a one-off deal”.
This latest transaction is the second at The Tate Residences in 2018. The first was in February, when a 3,240 sq ft, four-bedroom unit was also sold for $8 million, or $2,469 psf. The seller, however, made a profit of $436,680 (6%), having bought it in September 2006 for $7.56 million ($2,334 psf). This unit is situated on the 30th floor — just three floors above the unit that sustained the loss.
There have been 17 unprofitable and 59 profitable transactions so far at The Tate Residences, based on transactions culled from URA caveats as at May 8.
The second-largest loss of $2.1 million (24%) at the freehold condo was incurred in 2017. A 3,208 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the eighth floor that was bought in November 2009 for $8.6 million ($2,681 psf) changed hands for $6.5 million ($2,026 psf) last September.
The Tate Residences, located on Claymore Road in District 9, was developed by Hong Leong Holdings and completed in 2011. It comprises a total of 85 units in two 36-storey towers that sit on a 71,978 sq ft freehold site. It is less than a three-minute drive to Orchard Road, and a 10-minute drive to the CBD.
At Ardmore Park, a 330-unit freehold development near The Tate Residences, all three transactions for the year have been profitable, with gains averaging $2.74 million (56%). A 2,885 sq ft unit was sold in February for a $4.65 million profit (124%). At The Claymore, units changed hands at more than $2,500 psf. A 2,680 sq ft unit was sold for $6.8 million ($2,537 psf) in September 2017.
Meanwhile, also in District 9, a 2,820 sq ft unit at Cairnhill Plaza recorded a $2.45 million profit (114%), making it the most profitable transaction for the week of April 24 to May 1, according to caveats lodged. The four-bedder was sold at $4.6 million ($1,631 psf). The seller purchased the seventh-floor unit in March 2006 for $2.15 million ($762 psf). This translates into an annualised profit of 6% over a 12- year holding period. All four transactions last year at Cairnhill Plaza were profitable.
Cairnhill Plaza is a freehold development by UOL Group that was completed in 1978. The 30-storey condo comprises a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units of 2,292, 2,819 and 3,303 sq ft, respectively. It is located about 400m from the Orchard Road shopping belt.
This article appeared in the EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 830 (May 14, 2018)