Market Boom in 2024 Sees Sellers Make Profit: OrangeTee

Data shows deals jump to 1,306, from 178 in 2020, amid delays caused by pandemic

- Grace Leong

Sub-sales gained traction in 2024 as more opportunistic sellers cashed in on a strong price run-up in the past five years and sold their condominiums before completion, earning an average profit of around $270,000, data from OrangeTee Group showed.

Typically, a condo project takes three to four years to complete. However, the pandemic spawned delays and disruptions in the construction industry, causing a number of projects to take a much longer time to finish.

Consequently, sub-sales, which accounted for 6.6 per cent of overall non-landed sales in 2024, jumped to 1,306 transactions, up from just 178 in 2020, according to OrangeTee.

Still, analysts noted that sub-sale volumes remained far below the 2007 record of 4,863 – the highest since data became available in 1996.

Condominiums in the suburbs accounted for 57.8 per cent (755 units) of sub-sale transactions in 2024, followed by city fringe properties at 38.4 per cent (502 units). The remaining 3.8 per cent (49 units) were from the prime district, OrangeTee said.

The 10 bestselling sub-sale projects in 2024 include The Florence Residences in Hougang with 159 sub-sales, Parc Clematis in Clementi (133), Affinity at Serangoon (120), and Penrose in Aljunied (100).

For the profitability study, OrangeTee calculated individual units' gross gains and losses based on sale prices alone.