Sentosa condos sold at a loss as interest in waterfront projects wanes

The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove. -- PHOTO: CDL 
The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove. -- PHOTO: CDL 

SINGAPORE - Two luxury condominium units at Sen tosa Cove were sold at record prices this week.

Spanish tycoon Ricardo Portabella Peralta, chief executive of Luxembourg-based investment holding firm Ventos SA, was reported to have snapped up two units at SC Global's Seven Palms Sentosa Cove project, at $4,131 per square foot (psf).

However, this sale was probably an exception. No thanks to a weakening property market, many units have recently been sold for losses or put up for mortgagee sales.

A check of sales of District 4, which includes Sentosa Cove, shows that just 210 homes were sold, compared with 480 transactions in the same period a year ago.

Some units at these projects chalked up a loss for their sellers:


1. The Coast at Sentosa Cove

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Two units at the 99-year leasehold project in Ocean Drive were sold at hefty losses.

In August, a 2,024 sq ft unit was sold for $1,900 psf, though it was bought for $2,020 psf in July 2007. This meant a loss of $242,880 for the seller.

Separately, a 2,820 sq ft unit went for $1,702 psf in December last year, making a loss of $1.2 million as it was first bought for $2,128 psf in January 2011.

Units at the project developed by Ho Bee Group have sold for an average price of $1,810 psf in the past six months.

2. The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove

A recent sale in October led to a loss of $64,700 for its seller. The 1,216 sq ft unit was bought in July 2007 at $1,700 psf before being transacted in October at $1,646 psf.

Another loss came in September, when a 2,077 sq ft unit was sold at $1,925 psf. Its owner bought the unit in August 2010 for $2,261 psf, chalking up a loss of $701,000.

One 2,982 sq ft unit even racked up a seven-digit loss of $1.55 million when it was sold for $1,895 psf in November last year. It was first snapped up in April 2008 for $7.2 million, or $2,415 psf.

The average price of units at the City Developments' project sold over the last six months was $1,705 psf.

3. The Berth by The Cove

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Two units that were bought on the same day in September 2007 recently suffered the same fate of being resold for a loss.

One was a 1,647 sq ft unit that went for $1,588 psf in April - or a loss of $315,00 - after it was bought for $1,779 psf.

The other 1,668 sq ft unit that was bought for $1,780 psf chalked up a slightly smaller loss of $250,200 when it was sold for $1,630 psf in Dec last year.

Units at the project have sold for an average of $1,384 psf in the last six months. The project is developed by Ho Bee.

4. Turquoise

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The biggest losses suffered in Sentosa Cove have been at another Ho Bee project in Cove Drive, with two apartments that went under the hammer for losses of up to $3.2 million.

The 2,777 sq ft apartments that were bought in 2009 for about $2,550 psf were both sold for about $1,400 psf in July.

In the past six months, units were sold for an average of $1,424 psf.

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