S$16 million deal at Leedon Residence tops Q1 gains with seller reaping S$4 million profit

[SINGAPORE] A 6,125 square foot (sq ft) unit at Leedon Residence was sold for S$16 million in March 2025, earning the seller a tidy profit of S$4 million – making it the most profitable transaction by quantum in the first quarter of 2025.

According to data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, the 11th-floor penthouse unit at the freehold luxury development in District 10 was bought in April 2017 for two-thirds of what it sold for – that is, S$12 million or S$1,959 per square foot (psf). 

On a psf basis, the unit went at S$2,612 psf in March 2025. 

With a holding period of eight years, the annualised profit works out to 3.7 per cent with the seller’s gross gain amounting to about 33 per cent.

The data also showed that the five biggest money-making transactions by quantum in Q1 were all freehold sales in Singapore’s prime Core Central Region (CCR).

This was by virtue of the relatively higher prices and freehold tenure, which tends to command a premium, said Cushman & Wakefield head of research Wong Xian Yang.

But at the same time, CCR transactions topped loss-making deals in the first quarter of this year, as with previous quarters. Losses ranged from S$582,700 to S$2.3 million. 

The deal that spilled the most red ink in Q1, in terms of quantum, was a 1,668 sq ft unit at freehold condo Helios Residences. The District 9 unit changed hands for S$4 million (S$2,397 psf) in March. This was 37 per cent lower than its original price of S$6.3 million (S$3,786 psf) in January 2013. This works out to annualised losses of 3.7 per cent over a holding period of slightly over 12 years. 

By percentage, the biggest loser was an 850 sq ft unit at the 103-year leasehold The Scotts Tower in District 9. It was transacted for S$1.8 million or S$2,140 psf in January. This was 38 per cent lower than its original price of S$2.9 million (S$3,464 psf) in January 2012. Based on a holding period of 13 years, this translates to annualised losses of 3.6 per cent.

In terms of percentage gains, executive condominium (EC) transactions were the most profitable in Q1, with gains of 121 to 132 per cent. This continues a trend that emerged in Q1 2023.

Topping the list was a 1,528 sq ft unit at Hundred Palms Residences EC in Yio Chu Kang. The District 19 unit was sold for S$3.1 million (S$2,001 psf) in March this year, reaping the seller a profit of S$1.7 million – 132 per cent of the original price of S$1.3 million (S$864 psf) in July 2017. This works out to an annualised profit 11.6 per cent over a holding period of around seven-and-a-half years. 

Excluding ECs, three of the five top percentage gainers were for units in the suburban Outside Central Region (OCR), with the other two in the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR). 

The top money-making deal by percentage gains was a 1,119 sq ft freehold apartment unit at 268B Joo Chiat Road in District 15. It changed hands at S$1.9 million (S$1,679 psf) in February, with the seller grossing slightly over S$1 million. This was 125 per cent over its original price of S$837,000 in February 2016. Based on a holding period of nine years, this translates to an annualised profit of 9.4 per cent. 

For its study, Cushman & Wakefield examined caveats for non-landed private homes that were transacted in Q1 2025 with a prior purchase history between January 2012 and March 2025. The analysis excluded transaction costs and taxes, such as buyer’s stamp duty and seller’s stamp duty.

Overall, prime CCR properties accounted for 58 per cent of loss-making deals in the first quarter of this year, caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes showed. The RCR accounted for 28 per cent of such deals, and the OCR 14 per cent. 

While the CCR saw a larger share of loss-making deals, Wong noted that the majority of CCR sales – at 86 per cent – were still profitable. 

The total proportion of loss-making deals for landed and non-landed homes also remained low, declining to 2.7 per cent in Q1, from 3.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Wong attributed this to homeowners’ strong holding power as well as resilient upgrading demand for private homes amid still-low unemployment rates and strong household balance sheets. 

Private home prices are therefore expected to grow by around 3 per cent for the whole of 2025, slowing down slightly from 2024’s 3.9 per cent year on year growth, he pointed out. 

Wong reckoned that barring new cooling measures and unforeseen economic shocks, the overall levels of loss-making deals is expected to be low.