Contrasting fortunes at two condos

The week of Sept 27 to Oct 4 saw contrasting fortunes at two condominium projects — one from the high-end market and the other, the mass market.

At Nassim Park Residences in prime District 10, two units were sold in the week, one at a profit and the other at a hefty loss. Both units were purchased from the developer in 2008. The profitable transaction with a gain of $688,000 accrued to a 3,175 sq ft unit on the third floor. The seller, who purchased the unit in June 2008 at $3,263 psf, resold it to a foreigner on Sept 30 for $11 million, or $3,480 psf.

On the other hand, a 6,878 sq ft penthouse from the project was sold on Oct 3 at a $2.3 million loss, the biggest loss recorded historically at the project. The unit changed hands for $21.2 million, or $3,082 psf. The seller had purchased the unit in August 2008 at $3,418 psf. The buyer is understood to be a Singapore permanent resident. Nassim Park Residences is a luxury condo project comprising 100 units near the Orchard Road shopping belt. The project was completed in 2011.

Meanwhile, in the mass-market segment, two sellers at Sea Esta also met with differing fortunes. One seller gained $113,000 while the other incurred a loss of $17,000. Both purchased their units in 2012 and resold them four years later, shortly after the expiry of the four-year seller’s stamp duty holding period. The profitable transaction involved a 980 sq ft unit on the seventh floor, which was purchased at $893 psf in July 2012 and resold at $988,000, or $1,009 psf, on Oct 3.

A 1,119 sq ft unit on the second floor, however, was sold at a loss of $17,000. The seller paid $882 psf for the unit in September 2012 and resold it at $970,000, or $866 psf. This marks the first unprofitable transaction at the project this year and the third historically. All the losses were below $100,000. Sea Esta is a 376-unit, 99-year leasehold project on Pasir Ris Link that was completed in 2015.

The most profitable condo transaction in the week accrued to a 2,573 sq ft unit at Grand Duchess at St Patrick’s, a 121-unit freehold condo off Marine Parade Road. The seller, who had held the unit for close to 10 years, gained $1.3 million from the Oct 4 sale of the property, which fetched $2.9 million, or $1,108 psf. Having paid the developer $591 psf for the unit in December 2006, the seller made an annualised gain of 7%.

Separately in prime District 11, a seller made a profit of more than $1 million at Park Infinia at Wee Nam. The seller, who purchased the 1,690 sq ft unit from the developer at $1,007 psf a decade ago, in August 2006, sold it at $2.9 million, or $1,716 psf, on Sept 27. This translates into an annualised gain of 5%.