S$14 million Leedon Residence deal nets S$5.2 million profit, tops Q1 resale gains 

[SINGAPORE] A massive 4,704-square-foot (sq ft) unit at Leedon Residence was sold for S$14 million in February, earning the seller a cool S$5.2 million in profit – making it the most profitable transaction by quantum in the first quarter of 2026. 

The five-bedder at the freehold luxury development in prime District 10 was bought for S$8.8 million, or S$1,871 per square foot (psf), back in February 2017, data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield showed. On a psf basis, it went at S$2,976 psf in February 2026. 

Based on a holding period of nine years, the annualised profit works out to 5.3 per cent, with the seller’s gross gain amounting to about 59 per cent.

This extends a run of standout resale gains by sellers at Leedon Residence, which has consistently ranked among the most profitable in recent quarters. 

In Q4 2025, a 2,508 sq ft unit changed hands for S$7.8 million, netting the seller S$2.1 million in profit. Prior to that, in Q3, another unit was sold for S$7.5 million, with a S$2.5 million gain. 

In Q1 2025, two of the five most profitable transactions were also from Leedon Residence. A 6,125 sq ft unit that sold for S$16 million led with a profit of S$4 million. 

Cushman’s Q1 data also showed that the five biggest money-making transactions all involved either freehold properties or those with a 999-year leasehold tenure in the Core Central Region. This is largely by virtue of the relatively higher prices such units command, said Wong Xian Yang, Cushman & Wakefield’s research head. 

By percentage, all of the top five profitable transactions – with profits of 130 to 134 per cent – were executive condominiums (ECs) in the suburbs or Outside Central Region, continuing a trend that emerged in Q1 2023. 

Of the top five winners, three were at the Hundred Palms Residences EC along Yio Chu Kang Road. 

Resale transactions at the 99-year leasehold project have been setting record prices since it reached its five-year minimum occupation period in December 2024, with a few reaching historical resale prices on a psf basis, Wong noted. 

In the previous quarter, for instance, caveats data showed a 1,270 sq ft unit transacting at S$2.6 million or S$2,055 psf. Most recently in February 2026, another 1,055 sq ft unit sold for S$2.1 million or S$2,019 psf. 

The most profitable EC transaction in Q1 was for a 1,970 sq ft unit at The Tampines Trilliant EC. It sold for nearly S$2.9 million (S$1,462 psf) in January, up 140 per cent from the seller’s original price of S$1.2 million (S$609 psf) in May 2012. Given a holding period of 13.7 years, this works out to an annualised profit of 6.6 per cent, with the seller netting S$1.7 million in profit.

Excluding ECs, four of the top five resale gainers by percentage were found in the suburbs, with one in the city fringe. Gross gains ranged from 93 to 98 per cent. 

Topping the list was a unit at the 99-year leasehold Parc Centros in Punggol. The 990 sq ft unit was sold for S$1.8 million (S$1,773 psf) in March, nearly double its original price of S$887,250 (S$896 psf) in August 2012. This works out to an annualised profit of 5.2 per cent over a holding period of 13.5 years.

Biggest losers

Figures from Cushman showed that in Q1, properties in Singapore’s prime Core Central Region suffered the largest losses in absolute terms, ranging from S$800,000 to S$1.9 million.

The deal that spilt the most red ink in Q1 was a 2,896 sq ft unit at freehold condo Bishopsgate Residences in Tanglin. The District 10 unit changed hands for S$8.8 million (S$3,039 psf) in February. This was 17 per cent lower than its original price of S$10.7 million (S$3,682 psf) in March 2021. This works out to annualised losses of 3.8 per cent over a holding period of five years.

In terms of percentage, the seller of a 850 sq ft unit at the 103-year leasehold The Scotts Tower in District 9 chalked up the biggest loss in the quarter. The unit was sold for S$1.8 million (S$2,152 psf) in January, at a loss of S$1.3 million from the original purchase price of S$3.2 million (S$3,719 psf) in March 2013. 

Based on the holding period of nearly 13 years, the seller suffered annual losses of 4.2 per cent. 

Caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes also showed that most of Q1’s loss-making deals – 49 per cent – were prime CCR properties. RCR accounted for 34 per cent of such deals, and the OCR, 16 per cent. 

For its study, Cushman & Wakefield examined caveats for non-landed private homes that were transacted in Q1, and which had prior purchase history between January 2012 and March 2026. The analysis excludes transaction costs and taxes, such as buyer’s stamp duty and seller’s stamp duty.

Although the CCR saw a larger share of loss-making deals, Wong noted that the majority of resale transactions in the region – at 84 per cent – were still profitable. 

Meanwhile, the proportion of loss-making transactions (landed and non-landed) in the secondary market inched down to 3.7 per cent in Q1, after three consecutive quarters of increases.  

Wong attributed the low levels of loss-making deals – which has ranged between 2.6 and 3.9 per cent since Q2 2023 – to firm home-price growth. 

Government data showed that in Q1, private home prices rose 0.9 per cent, picking up from a 0.6 per cent increase in the previous quarter. For the whole of 2025, prices grew 3.3 per cent.  

In 2026, Wong expects private residential prices to rise by 2 to 4 per cent, supported by low borrowing costs, increasing land prices, and resilient buyer confidence amid still-low unemployment rates.

“While HDB upgrader demand is still expected to persist, the overall momentum is slowing,” he noted. In Q1, the public home price index recorded a 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter dip – the first fall in almost seven years. 

“Against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, market activity is likely to become more selective, with buyers gravitating to market segments or projects that can offer the best value-for-money,” said Wong. 

Nonetheless, Wong reckons the overall levels of loss-making deals will remain low this year, barring new cooling measures and unforeseen economic shocks.