16 Sentosa Cove homes sold at a loss in past 12 months
16 Sentosa Cove homes sold at a loss in past 12 months
They may boast Singapore's most prestigious address, but Sentosa Cove properties are far from being the guaranteed money spinners their wealthy owners may have hoped for.
Of the 30 Sentosa Cove transactions in the past 12 months, 16 recorded losses when they were sold, according to data from Knight Frank.
Only 11 notched up profits. There was no data available on previous transactions for three of the properties.
The largest loss was at Seascape, where a seventh storey unit chalked up a loss of $6.6 million. The 378 sq m apartment was put up for auction in January and sold through private treaty to a buyer with a Housing Board home address for $6.2 million in February. It had been purchased for $12.8 million in June 2010.
The next largest loss was also at Seascape - $4.65 million. The previous owner bought the unit for $11 million in December 2011, but last October, the eighth storey unit went under the hammer for $6.35 million in a mortgagee sale.
But one savvy investor with staying power made a $4.1 million profit for his landed property at 184, Ocean Drive.
He sold the 316 sq m terrace house for $6.8 million in May last year, after buying it for just $2.7 million in February 2005.
Sentosa Cove is the only place here where foreigners who are not permanent residents can buy landed property. But this feature does not bring with it a guarantee of profit - the only other terrace house transaction in the past 12 months recorded a loss of $200,000.
The second-largest profit recorded was at The Azure, where a 294 sq m unit was sold in May last year for a profit of $1.158 million - 10 years after it was purchased.
“Sentosa Cove non-landed home prices
have fallen to very attractive levels...”Knight Frank Singapore head of consultancy and research Alice Tan
The 30 properties were sold for between $1.68 million and $6.8 million. The average profit of the 11 profitable transactions was $820,900. The average loss of the 16 loss-making transactions was $1.67 million.
Prices at Sentosa Cove have been falling. In the core central region, which includes Sentosa, private non-landed home prices continued on a downward trend, falling by 0.4 per cent for the first quarter of this year, compared with a 0.1 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
Overall, prices fell by 1.2 per cent in the core central region last year.
Analysts said Sentosa Cove property prices have been falling across the board over the last 12 months.
The area also suffers from the perception that it is not as accessible as the other prime residential properties in areas such as Orchard Road and Bukit Timah.
However, Knight Frank Singapore head of consultancy and research Alice Tan also said inquiries from home hunters are on the rise.
"Sentosa Cove non-landed home prices have fallen to very attractive levels, which has prompted buyers to re-look the properties there, whether for own use or for investment," said Ms Tan.
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