More luxury condos, landed homes go under the hammer in feeble market

Prime districts are hardest hit.

The weak residential property market has forced more homeowners to relinquish their hard-earned trophy properties. According to Colliers, a larger number of prime condominiums and landed homes have been put up for sale by mortgagee sale this year, as higher-priced properties have been particularly hard-hit by the government’s stringent property cooling measures,

Data from Colliers showed that there were 51 non-landed homes in prime areas put up for sale by mortgagees – including units at the newer prime Districts 1 and 4 which comprises developments such as Marina Bay Residences, The Sail @ Marina Bay, Reflections at Keppel Bay and Turquoise in Sentosa Cove.

Properties at the traditional prime Districts 9 and 10 which comprises developments such as Thong Sia Building and Orchard Scotts in Orchard Road, The Verv in River Valley, Residences at Killiney and Visioncrest Residence off Orchard Road, Estilo at Dhoby Ghaut, Botanic Gardens Mansions in Napier Road and Stevens Court in Stevens Road.

“The subdued market sentiments are pronounced in these areas, as housing demand from both locals and foreigners has substantially weakened. Not only has it become challenging for local homebuyers to secure loans, particularly for higher-priced properties, due to the stringent loan curbs, the falling yields as a result of the softer rental market have also deterred investors from committing to a purchase,” said Annie Chan Director of Auction & Sales at Colliers International.

Landed homes contributed 11.9% to the mortgagee sale listings. Most of these properties have sizeable land plots of about 4,000 sq ft or more and borrowers are experiencing difficulties in disposing their properties due to the higher price tags that come with these larger landed homes

Notwithstanding, the relatively lower percentage of landed homes put up for mortgagee sale is due to the ownership profile of such homes – comprising mainly owner-occupiers, since landed residential properties are still coveted homes due to its scarcity.

Only three landed properties were sold – Brighton Crescent that was knocked down at $9.1 million, Eng Kong Drive at $3 million and Wolskel Road at $4.31 million.