According to Huttons' quarterly report released on Monday (Feb 6), the number of transactions of non-owned luxury properties in the fourth quarter of last year was 73 units, down 33.6 per cent year-on-year, while the transaction value was $684 million, down 31.9 per cent year-on-year.
The report counted luxury non-landed residences of 2,000 square feet and above in the core Central District with a transaction price of at least $5 million, as well as ultra-luxury non-landed residences of 3,000 square feet and above with a transaction price of at least $10 million.
The top three priced multi-million dollar homes were all from Les Maisons Nassim on Nassim Road. The two top-priced units were penthouses, selling for $68 million and $59.77 million respectively. The third-ranked unit sold for $46 million.
The report noted that foreign buyers of local luxury properties were mainly from China, the United States and Indonesia.
Looking ahead to this year, the report said that luxury property transactions will benefit from the reopening of the Chinese border.
Chinese buyers have seen an increase in enquiries and purchases of luxury properties since January. Sources said they have purchased several units at 3 Orchard By-The-Park and Klimt Cairnhill. More deals could be on the way locally this year as the Chinese super-rich return.
According to real estate website EdgeProp, 18 units have been sold at Klimt Cairnhill since its re-launch this year. Of these, 40 per cent of the buyers were from China and another 25 per cent of foreign buyers were from Southeast Asia.
In addition, according to sources, a Chinese buyer bought two penthouse units at Orchard San Tsui Lam and intends to combine them for an estimated total sale price of $60 million.
In his report, the CEO of Hopedale Group noted that some Chinese buyers' transactions may not have been recorded as the sale and purchase bans (caveats) for luxury properties are not mandatory to submit.
Overall, demand for larger units from the super-rich remains high and the market has a limited supply of properties.
In terms of quality house sales, the Hedon Group's quarterly report showed that six other quality houses were sold in the fourth quarter of last year, with a turnover of $217.5 million, down 53.1 per cent year-on-year.
The report pointed out that in addition to buyers adopting a wait-and-see attitude due to the uncertain economic environment, higher asking prices from sellers also contributed to the drop in sales in the fourth quarter.
A total of 48 quality townhouses were sold last year compared to the previous year, down by half year-on-year. Transaction value is expected to decrease by 51.6% year-on-year to $1.4 billion.
The youngest daughter-in-law of Filipino tycoon Ng Chung Man bought the most expensive house in last year's premium house transactions at a cost of $66.06 million. The 34,216 sq ft house at 42 Chancery Lane was priced at the equivalent of $1,931 per square foot, setting a new record for the Bukit Tunggal area in terms of price and square footage.
The second and third highest quality houses traded last year were at 3 Jervois Hill and 80 Belmont Park, at $59 million and $55.5 million respectively, according to the buy-sell ban.
The report said that the number of sales of prime townhouses is expected to remain at 40 to 50 this year as some potential buyers are still waiting for citizenship and sellers are asking for unabated asking prices. Of these, the Wilkinson, Branksome Road and Goodman Road neighbourhoods in District 15 are likely to attract some buyers.
