For the past few months, we have been covering monthly condo gains and losses. For instance, last month, we noticed that the condo units with at least a 200% gain in April 2023 were held for at least 15 years. We also noted that 32 condo units were sold at a loss in the same month.
Today, we’ll be focusing on the executive condominiums (ECs) that were resold in May 2023 (from URA data, captured as of 14 June 2023).
(Shout out to the data team at 99.co, who have helped us match the latest and previous transactions of the same units to calculate the capital gains and losses of the respective units. Other costs, such as stamp duty, legal fees and agent’s commissions, are not taken into account.)
Do also note that the data includes EC units that were initially sold by developers. Some of them have since been privatised when they’re resold last month.
ECs sold last month recorded an average profit of S$470k
In total, there were 215 profitable EC transactions in the resale market in May 2023. Among these transactions, the average profit is around S$470,000 (rounded off to 3 significant figures). Meanwhile, the holding period averaged around eight years. As of 14 June 2023, no capital losses by EC units were recorded last month.
The highest capital gain made by an EC in May 2023 was S$994,755 by a 1,551 sqft unit from Park Green. The unit was first bought in October 2002 for S$565,245. After a holding period of 21 years, it was sold in early May for S$1.56 million, translating to a 176% gain.
This also means that it’s sold after privatisation. 10 years after an EC reaches its TOP date, there’s no restriction on who they can be sold to.
Meanwhile, the lowest capital gain was S$44,000 by a 979 sqft unit from La Casa. First bought in May 2013 for S$858,000, the unit was sold 10 years later for S$902,000. It made a gain of 5.1%.
Top 10 gains made by ECs in May 2023
| Condo name | TOP | District | Size (sqft) | Purchase price and date | Sale price and date | Capital gain | Years held | Annualised gain |
| Park Green | 2004 | 19 | 1,551 | S$565k
8 Oct 2002 |
S$1.56m
5 May 2023 |
S$995k
176% |
21 | 4.95% |
| The Eden At Tampines | 2003 | 18 | 1,485 | S$631k
25 Jun 2001 |
S$1.58m
3 May 2023 |
S$949k
150% |
22 | 4.26% |
| The Topiary | 2016 | 28 | 2,228 | S$1.47m
23 Jan 2013 |
S$2.4m
10 May 2023 |
S$930k
63.2% |
10 | 5.02% |
| Simei Green Condominium | 1999 | 18 | 1,194 | S$410k
22 Oct 2004 |
S$1.21m
5 May 2023 |
S$800k
195% |
19 | 5.86% |
| The Terrace | 2017 | 19 | 1,443 | S$1.14m
29 Jun 2015 |
S$1.9m
5 May 2023 |
S$765k
67.4% |
8 | 6.65% |
| The Quintet | 2006 | 23 | 1,291 | S$457k
26 Nov 2003 |
S$1.22m
5 May 2023 |
S$763k
167% |
20 | 5.03% |
| Esparina Residences | 2013 | 19 | 1,001 | S$768k
8 Nov 2010 |
S$1.53m
29 May 2023 |
S$760k
99% |
13 | 5.43% |
| Bellewaters | 2017 | 19 | 1,238 | S$911k
28 Aug 2015 |
S$1.67m
12 May 2023 |
S$757k
83.1% |
8 | 7.86% |
| Pinevale | 1999 | 18 | 1,292 | S$487k
8 Feb 2007 |
S$1.24m
12 May 2023 |
S$753k
155% |
16 | 6.02% |
| The Florida | 2000 | 19 | 1,227 | S$537k
20 Aug 1998 |
S$1.29m
22 May 2023 |
S$753k
140% |
25 | 3.57% |
Figures (except floor area) in the table are rounded off to 3 significant figures.
70% of the top 10 EC gainers were sold after the 10-year privatisation
Among the 10 most profitable EC transactions last month, eight were sold after a holding period of at least 10 years. This is even as the average holding period of all the profitable transactions last month was around eight years.
When we looked closer at these 10 transactions, we noticed seven were sold after privatisation. As mentioned earlier, ECs are privatised 10 years after their TOP. This means that projects completed in 2013 or earlier are considered private property and can be sold to foreigners.
Similar to HDB flats, new ECs are subject to a five-year MOP. After that, when they’re resold on the resale market between the fifth and ninth year, they can only be sold to Singaporeans and PRs.
This means that after privatisation, EC owners have a bigger pool of buyers they can sell their units to.
Given the recent ABSD hike for foreigners (now 60%), those looking for a more affordable home may also want to consider ECs. As they’re all located in the outside central region (OCR), they tend to command lower prices.
60% of the top 10 EC gainers are located in the north-east region
Another thing that caught our eye is that six of the most profitable EC units are located in the north-east region of Singapore.
These include four from Sengkang, one from Punggol and one from Hougang. We should also note that the most profitable EC last month is located in Sengkang.
Meanwhile, the other three units are from Tampines — not too far from the north-east region.
See also Rivelle Tampines
Only one unit in the top 10 is located in the west, at Choa Chu Kang.
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Interestingly, when we compare the price trends of ECs in these areas sold in the resale market in the last five years, Choa Chu Kang recorded the highest appreciation of 75.75%.
This is followed by Hougang at 50.98%, Tampines at 45.09%, Punggol at 30.46% and Sengkang at 24.79%.
Planning to sell your EC soon? Let us help you get the right price by connecting you with a premier property agent.
If you found this article helpful, 99.co recommends How much do you need to earn to buy a new or resale Executive Condo (EC)? and Resale ECs hitting MOP in 2023 (and should you sell right after MOP?)
About Virginia Tanggono
Virginia covers the property news in Singapore, from record sales to profile stories on home ownership. In her free time, she occasionally searches for spoilers of movies and TV shows.
Looking to sell your property?
Whether your HDB apartment is reaching the end of its Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) or your condo has crossed its Seller Stamp Duty (SSD) window, it is always good to know how much you can potentially gain if you were to list and sell your property. Not only that, you’ll also need to know whether your gains would allow you to right-size to the dream home in the neighbourhood you and your family have been eyeing.
One easy way is to send us a request for a credible and trusted property consultant to reach out to you.
Alternatively, you can jump onto 99.co’s Property Value Tool to get an estimate for free.
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What’s the good of such massive housing prices going up so high? Instead of a gradual increase beating inflation, this high extremely high increases over the decades will be destroying our younger and future generations affordability to buy their own home. It’s bad for Singapore long term living conditions for the children of the future who will also not be able to afford to rent because it goes up together with housing prices.
The HDB should plan to rent out HDB 2, 3 and 4 rooms flat because it will come a day in future those who cannot afford to buy a HDB to suit their family size and also cannot afford rental from HDB owners will become a very angry citizen.
Owners of homes today whom own one flat cannot be happy too because they sold high price but will be paying more higher prices for the flat they have to re-purchase to lived in and will be incurring higher debts and mortgage payments. The little profit in cash will be spent quickly and Singaporeans common folks will be like Americans living in a high debts environment with higher risks as they get older.