The seller of the 3,057-square-foot (sq ft), unit at The Ritz-Carlton Residences Singapore Cairnhill, made a tidy S$4.9-million profit.

Cushman & Wakefield crunched data for the Business Times and found that the 33rd-floor unit in the District 9 freehold luxury development was sold in January for S$16.5m or S$5,397 psf. BT reported that this was the 1st time since June 20,23, prices on the prime residential market had exceeded the S$5,000 psf threshold.

The seller made a profit of S$4.9m or 42 percent over the original purchase price of S$11.6m (S$3,795psf).

A seller who held the property for nearly eight years made a profit of 4.5% per annum.

Data also revealed that all five of the top-performing transactions in Q1 by dollar value were sales in Singapore’s Core Central Region (CCR). The data showed that the prices and unit sizes were higher in this area.

He noted that four of the five properties were freehold, which are more likely to fetch a higher price.

The Q1 data shows that prime properties were the most affected by the loss of value, both in terms of percentage and dollar amount. The biggest losses ranged between SS$381,000 to S$983,555. These units were purchased at different times of the market cycle.

The CCR deals were also the most loss-making transactions in the last two quarters. In Q4 2023 the losses ranged between S$281,000 and S$2.39million, while in Q3 they ranged from S$267,000 up to S$700,000.

In terms of both quantum and percentages, the deal that spewed out the most red ink during Q1 was a freehold condo Robinson Suites located in District 1. In January, it was sold for S$1.8m or S$1,922 per sq ft. It was 35% lower than the original price in May 2013 of S$2.78m (S$2,972psf). This translates into a loss of 4 percent per year based on a 10-year holding period.

Executive condominium (EC), in terms of gains in percentage, continued a trend which began in Q1 2023.

Treasure Crest EC was the top seller of resale units, with sellers making S$716,000 to S$921,000.

The five 99-year leasehold apartments in Sengkang in District 19 were held on average for around eight years, before they were sold at a high profit between 98 and 106 percent.

The top-selling unit was a 1,249 square foot Treasure Crest apartment, sold in January for S$1.79m or S$1,434 per sqft. The unit was originally sold for S$869,000 ($696 per sq ft) in July 2016, which is 106 percent more. The annualised profit was 10.2 percent, based on a holding period of seven years. Find out more on upcoming launch in District 19 : Union Square Residences

Four of the top five percentage gainers, excluding ECs were units located in the suburb Outside Central Region (OCR). The unit located in the Rest of Central Region, also known as the city fringe or RCR, was the most profitable by percentage.

In March, a 1,346 sq. ft. unit in the Eastwind Mansions freehold condominium along Joo Chiat Terrace (District 15) was sold for just over S$2,000,000 (1,487 S$ per square foot). The seller made S$900888 or 82% profit over the original price of S$1.1m (S$818psf) for April 2017. This translates to an annualised gain of 9.1 percent based on a 6.9-year holding period.

Cushman & Wakefield’s study examined caveats on non-landed homes purchased between January 2012 and February 2024. The analysis excluded transaction fees and taxes such as stamp duties for both the buyer and seller.

According to caveat data for landed and non landed private homes, 55 percent of all loss-making transactions in the first three months of this year were prime CCR properties. RCR properties accounted for 36% of these deals and OCR properties 9%, according to caveat data.

Even though CCR had a higher share of losses, the majority of CCR’s sales, at 84%, were profitable.

Due to the strong local demand and property owners’ high holding power, there was a low proportion of losses in both the non-landed and landed sectors. The low unemployment rate and the strong balance sheets of households helped to support these.

The overall level of losses-making deals is expected to remain low over the next few quarters, despite high interest rates and rising housing prices.