http://www.straitstimes.com/news/busines...s-20141205
Sentosa condos sold at a loss as interest in waterfront projects wanes
Published on Dec 5, 2014 8:50 AM
The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove. -- PHOTO: CDL
By Cheryl Ong
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
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
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
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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