Bungalow In Bukit Timah Fetched $11 Million In Resale Gains In January

Muted resale activity in the landed resale market in January

Based on URA Realis caveat data, about 94 landed homes were transacted on the resale market in January 2024; the combined transaction value came up to $503 million – rising slightly from December (91 deals valued at $394.7 million). Upon an analysis of each transaction and their respective gains, most landed deals were profitable. In a ranking by gross profit garnered, the list of top 10 transactions consisted of landed homes located across the island, including in Bukit Timah, Novena and Bedok. The top 10 landed home transactions in January booked gains ranging from about $3.5 million to $11 million. Amongst the top resale gainers, five out of the top 10 landed transactions were located in the Outside Central Region (OCR).

Landed home sales in January picked up slightly after slowing down in December due to the seasonal lull and festive holidays. In January, there was a bigger proportion of higher priced landed homes being sold compared with the previous month. Based on URA Realis caveat data, about 33% of resale landed homes sold in December were priced at $5 million and above, compared with about 25% in December. Meanwhile, 67% of the resale landed transactions were priced at below $5 million in January – lower than the 74.7% proportion in the previous month.

Chart 1: Price range of private resale landed transactions in December 2023 vs January 2024

Source: PropNex Research, URA Realis

 Top 10 resale landed transactions in terms of estimated gains*

Source: PropNex Research, URA Realis

*Gains are derived from the resale transaction for each unit against the unit’s last caveated transaction. The gains reflected is gross – it has not accounted for the applicable seller’s stamp duties, interest payable, taxes and other relevant divestment costs.

**Annualised gain is the compounded annual rate of return which shows the rate of return over the time period between the point of resale and the property’s last caveated transaction, expressed in annual percentage terms. The formula for determining this is simply: [(current resale price) / (purchase price)] ^{time period in years}-1

Top landed transaction with highest gains (overall)

The top landed transaction in the month was for a detached house located near one of Singapore’s exclusive landed neighbourhoods in the CCR, in Duchess Avenue (District 10). The property was sold for $13.99 million in January and achieved a gross profit of $11.11 million from the last caveated price lodged in July 2001 - booking an annualised gain of 7.3%. This 999-year leasehold property sits on a plot with a land area of more than 5,800 sq ft, with the sale price reflecting a unit price of $1,681 psf on land area. The property is a 5-minute walk to the Tan Kah Kee MRT station on the Downtown Line, which take residents to the city in less than 30 minutes. The property is also a short walk from the quaint cafes and amenities in the Coronation Road neighbourhood, including Crown Centre, King’s Arcade, and Coronation Plaza. It is also near the National Junior College, Raffles Girls’ School, and Nanyang Girls’ School.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Core Central Region)

The second best performing landed transaction in the CCR was for a freehold detached house along Vanda Drive in the Bukit Timah planning area (District 11). The property was sold for about $12 million, reflecting an estimated gain of more than $8.1 million, representing an annualised gain of 5.1% per year from its last caveat lodged in April 2001 - with a holding period of more than 22 years. The property is located a short walk from the Sixth Avenue MRT station on the Downtown Line.

The third best performing landed home transaction in the CCR was for another detached house along Harlyn Road in the Novena planning area (District 11). The property was sold for about $17.5 million, reflecting an estimated gain of $7.52 million, representing an annualised gain of 15.4% per year from its last caveat lodged in January 2020 - with a holding period of about 4 years. The property is a short walk from the Botanic Gardens MRT interchange station, on the Circle Line and Downtown Line, which takes residents to the city in about 20 minutes. It is also located close to Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage site – the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Rest of Central Region)

There was only one city fringe or RCR landed home transaction which made the top 10 rankings in December. The first was for the sale of a detached house in Arthur Road in Marine Parade (District 15). Homes in District 15 have been experiencing an uplift in their property values over the last few years due to the progressive gentrification of the area, as well as the development of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). The property is a 5-minute walk away from the Katong Park MRT station on the TEL, which is slated to open in the first half of 2024. It was sold for $13.4 million in January, with its last caveat being lodged in August 2000. The sale price is up by about $10.54 million from the previous caveated price, marking an annualised profit of 6.8% over 24 years.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Outside Central Region)

The second most profitable deal in the suburbs in January was the sale of a semi-detached home in Bowmont Gardens in Bedok (District 15). The property was sold for $7.8 million, up by $4.6 million from the last caveat lodged in May 2019. This reflects an annualised profit of 21% over a holding period of 5 years. The two-storey detached house is situated in the Frankel landed housing area. It is located close to the commercial amenities at the culturally-diverse neighbourhood of Joo Chiat and the bustling Marine Parade estate.

The second best performing suburban landed home transaction in the top 10 rankings was the sale of a terrace house in Jalan Lateh, in District 13 (Serangoon). The freehold property was sold for slightly over $5 million, up by $3.5 million from the last caveat lodged in July 2002 – this reflects an annualised profit of 5.8% after a holding period of more than 20 years. The property is a 10-minute walk from the Serangoon MRT station and bus interchange, as well as the NEX shopping mall.

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