THE seller of a 7,050 square foot (sq ft), 40th floor unit at 99-year-leasehold Reflections at Keppel Bay divested the unit for some S$6.6 million more in the space of about a year, making the deal the largest profit-maker by quantum in the secondary market in the third quarter this year.

However, according to data collated for The Business Times by Cushman & Wakefield, the seller would have to pay seller’s stamp duty (SSD) – which suggests that the actual profit is lower – since the unit was bought for S$11 million (S$1,560 psf) on Sep 10, 2021 and sold for nearly S$17.63 million (S$2,500 psf) on Sep 12 this year. SSD for properties held up to a year is typically 12 per cent; and 8 per cent for properties held for over a year but up to two years.

Still, at 60 per cent (prior to transaction costs, such as SSD), the annualised profit for the top-floor unit is nothing to sneeze at.