Chinese buyers paid 30% ABSD for New Futura, Yong An Park, instead of 60% as reported
A foreign buyer has recently acquired two luxury condo units in District 9, Singapore, despite the hikes in additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). The first property is a four-bedroom, 2,691 sq ft unit located on the 24th floor of the freehold New Futura condo along Leonie Hill Road. According to data from URA, the unit was purchased for $12.5 million ($4,645 psf). The buyer paid an ABSD rate of 30% or $3.75 million for the purchase.
The seller had bought the unit in January 2018 for $9.13 million ($3,395 psf). As such, they made a 37% profit on the sale – the most profitable resale transaction at New Futura to date. The 124-unit, freehold development was completed in 2017 by developer City Developments Ltd and is a twin 36-storey tower designed by American architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
JCube Residence is strategically located near the bustling Jurong East MRT Interchange and Jurong East Bus Interchange and prominently set against the new Kampong Ubi skyline. It will be supported by a fully-integrated transport infrastructure, making JCube Residence an unparalleled and well-connected address.
The other property is a six-bedroom townhouse unit located at Yong An Park on River Valley Road. A caveat was lodged on May 5 for the sale of the 7,718 sq ft property for $14.08 million ($1,824 psf), and the foreign buyer paid an ABSD of 30%. The seller of the unit at Yong An Park purchased the property for $9.58 million ($1,241 psf) in February 2008, and thus made a 47% capital gain after holding on to it for 15 years. Completed in 1986, Yong An Park is a freehold development with a collection of one- to four-bedders with sizes between 1,023 sq ft and 3,778 sq ft.
In conclusion, these recent real estate sales serve as evidence that even during times of market changes, foreign buyers are still keen to acquire luxury properties in Singapore. The fact that the buyers in both these transactions were able to get away with paying the old ABSD rates of 30% due to taking up the option to purchase prior to May 17 likely helped as well.