Loss-making private home resale deals inch up in Q3 amid economic uncertainty

[SINGAPORE] The number and proportion of private residential properties resold at a loss crept up in the third quarter of 2025, marking an increase for a second straight quarter.

According to data consolidated for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, 3.8 per cent of all resale transactions in Q3 2025 were made at a loss, up from 3.2 per cent in Q2. 

Cushman & Wakefield research head Wong Xian Yang noted that this was not only the second consecutive quarter of increased loss-making deals, but also the highest quarterly count, at 108, since Q3 2022.

At 3.8 per cent, the share of loss-making exits was also at its highest since Q2 2023, when there were 4.1 per cent of such transactions. 

Still, the data showed that loss-making transactions in Q3 this year were less than a fifth of the level seen in Q2 2020, when 21.8 per cent of resale deals lost money. Losses peaked during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when “circuit-breaker” measures were introduced and market uncertainty was at its highest. 

Volumes and sentiment have recovered since then, driving the proportion of loss-making deals lower. 

Wong attributed the recent increase in loss-making resales to uncertainty in the economic climate, and some homeowners “opting to divest assets to recycle capital”.

He added that while the number of such transactions rose in Q3, it remained relatively low as a proportion of all resale deals.

Over the past three years, the share of such deals ranged between 2.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent. On average, around 3.5 per cent of all resale deals made losses every quarter. 

Wong reckons that overall levels of loss-making deals will remain low going forward, barring new cooling measures and unforeseen economic shocks, which could cause a sharp decline in demand and naturally lead to a price correction. 

“This is a reflection of the resilience of Singapore’s private property market where prices have increased by 3.1 per cent in the year to date as at Q3 2025 based on official flash estimates.” 

He added that the market is also supported by upgrader demand for private housing, especially amid continually growing public housing resale prices, still-low unemployment rates and healthy household balance sheets.

“(But) with property prices at record highs and continuing to set new benchmarks, it is increasingly important for buyers to exercise financial prudence and maintain a contingency plan in case market conditions shift unexpectedly.”

The biggest losers

Data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield showed that in Q3, residential properties in Singapore’s prime Core Central Region (CCR) and city fringe chalked up the biggest losses – losing between S$535,500 and S$3.2 million – in the quarter. 

The deal that spilled the most red ink by quantum was a 2,379 sq ft unit on the 17th floor of the 99-year leasehold Marina Bay Residences in District 1. It was sold for S$5.1 million or S$2,144 per square foot in mid-August, representing a loss of S$3.2 million over the original purchase price of S$8.3 million or S$3,500 psf in June 2022. 

Based on a holding period of 3.2 years, the seller made annualised losses of 14.2 per cent. 

By percentage, the biggest loss-making transaction was a 872 sq ft unit at the 103-year leasehold The Scotts Tower in District 9. It changed hands at S$1.8 million or S$2,099 psf in mid-September, almost half the initial purchase price of S$3.5 million or S$4,035 psf in May 2013. This translated to annualised losses of 5.1 per cent, based on a holding period of 12.4 years. 

Caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes also showed that the majority of loss-making deals – 62 per cent – were prime CCR properties. The Rest of Central Region accounted for 31 per cent of such deals, and the Outside Central Region (OCR), 6 per cent.

The most lucrative resale deal in Q3 was for a 2,777 sq ft unit at the luxury condominium Boulevard 88 in District 10. The fourth-floor unit was sold at S$13 million or S$4,681 psf in early July, reaping the seller a cool S$3.1 million in profit over the original purchase price of S$9.9 million in June 2019. The seller made an annualised profit of 4.6 per cent, based on the holding period of six years. 

In terms of percentage gains, executive condominium (EC) transactions were again the most profitable in the quarter, with gains of 130 to 134 per cent. This continues a trend that emerged in Q1 2023.

All of the top-five percentage gainers in Q3 were from Hundred Palms Residences EC in Yio Chu Kang, which reached its five-year minimum occupation period in December 2024. 

Wong said that, as at Oct 14, 91 units at the 531-unit EC development in District 19 had been sold, with the majority seeing capital gains of over 100 per cent.

Topping the list in Q3 was a 1,270 sq ft EC unit, which was sold for S$2.5 million or S$1,999 psf in late September. The seller made a S$1.5 million profit – 134 per cent of the initial price of just over S$1 million or S$853 psf in July 2017. This works out to an annualised profit of 11 per cent over a holding period of 8.2 years. 

Excluding ECs, four of the top-five percentage gainers were for units in the suburban OCR, with one in the city fringe. 

The top money-making deal by percentage gain in this group was a 1,270 sq ft freehold unit at Parc Palais condominium in District 21’s Bukit Batok. It changed hands at S$2.2 million or S$1,701 psf in mid-July, with the seller grossing S$1.1 million.

This was slightly more than double its original price of S$1 million in August 2016. Based on a holding period of almost nine years, this translates to an annualised profit of 8.7 per cent.

For its study, Cushman & Wakefield examined caveats for non-landed private homes that were transacted in Q3, and which had prior purchase history between January 2012 and September 2025. The analysis excludes transaction costs and taxes, such as buyer’s stamp duty and seller’s stamp duty.