TWO penthouses at Marina Bay Residences in the new downtown have sold for dizzyingly high prices - surpassing even the record prices paid for freehold homes in Singapore.
The two single-level penthouses at the 99-year leasehold development sold for about $3,400 per sq ft. That means they sold for about $15 million each, market watchers said.
Freehold prices are almost always higher than leasehold prices.
A total of six penthouses were the last homes on offer yesterday at the exclusive development where all other 422 units sold out within two days at preview sales.
Demand for the penthouses was so strong that a tender was used to decide the successful buyers for the 10 penthouses.
Another two of the single-level penthouses were sold at close to $3,300 psf, market watchers said.
Prices for the last single-level penthouse at the development and its 'super penthouse'' - Singapore's largest at 11,012 sq ft - were not disclosed.
But earlier, an offer of nearly $22 million, or less than $2,000 psf, was made for the super penthouse.
The reserve price was understood to have been set at $2,000 psf so the sale price could have been close to this level, they said.
One market watcher said champagne was popped after yesterday's tender to sell the penthouses, with the buyer of the super penthouse crowned 'King of Marina Bay'.
Marina Bay Residences was first released for sale on Tuesday. By Wednesday, all units except for the six penthouses were sold out.
Four duplex penthouses were tendered out on Wednesday at prices ranging from more than $2,400 psf to more than $2,900 psf, said market watchers.
Moscow-based Singapore businessman Sudhir Gupta was the buyer of one of the duplex penthouses. He paid more than $2,400 psf or at least $9.5 million for his unit.
Prices of the rest of the units exceeded $2,700 per sq ft, developer BFC Development - a consortium of Cheung Kong Holdings, Hong Kong Land and Keppel Land - had said on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the developer said in a statement that the average price achieved was 'in the region of $1,850 psf'.
'The planned public launch of the Marina Bay Residences this Friday has been cancelled,' it said.
'The sale result reflects local and overseas buyers' confidence in the Singapore economy and outlook going forward, as well as the Singapore Government's vision in developing the Marina Bay precinct,' said Mr Kan Kum Wah, head of residential marketing for BFC Development.
Just days after the units were sold, advertisements for sub-sales were already appearing.
No prices have been fixed, but some sellers are looking to pocket a few hundred thousand dollars for holding a property for a matter of days.
It is believed one unit has already been sold - netting the seller a profit of $1 million. The seller was one of the early buyers, getting a unit below $2,000 psf, which he then sold at $2,500 psf, said one market watcher.
The effect has spilled over to the next-door project, the 1,111-unit The Sail @ Marina Bay.
Yesterday sellers who placed advertisements in the Classified section of The Straits Times were quoting prices above the last-registered record $1,751 psf sub-sale price done at The Sail.
In one ad, the seller was asking for $1,950 psf for units on one whole floor above 60 storeys of tower two of The Sail.
It was accompanied by a line that said: 'Last chance to own iconic project in BFC before price is ridiculous.'
So far, there have been 172 sub-sale deals at The Sail, of which 35 were registered since October, according to sales caveats lodged.
At the Icon condominium in Tanjong Pagar, prices for the remaining units are believed to have been raised to $1,800 psf from $1,200 psf.
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