Local Buyers Are Key to the Recovery of Prime District Condo Market

Only way to sustain interest in such properties is to ensure prices are accessible to them

- Grace Leong

When Malaysia's IOI Properties began pre-sales for its 683-unit, 99-year leasehold condo W Residences Marina View in Singapore's Central Business District on July 12, only two units were reportedly booked.

It was a sign of how foreign buyers, deterred by hefty taxes on their property purchases, were still giving the luxury housing segment a miss.

But just a week later, two new prime district condos, UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard and The Robertson Opus in Unity Street - the only 999-year residential project launch in District 9 in 2025 collectively sold 305 units over their July 19 launch weekend.

This is above the 253 new units sold in the core central region in the third quarter of 2023 after foreign buyers were slapped with a 60 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) in April 2023.

The strong weekend showing also comes after two years of tepid sales of new prime district condos, which plummeted to a record low of 46 units sold in the second quarter of 2025, according to PropNex.

The dry spell afflicting prime district condos appears to be lifting, with UpperHouse and The Robertson Opus poised to boost prime district transactions to a two-year quarterly high in the third quarter of 2025.

These units have become more appealing as the price gap between prime district condos and those in the city fringe has narrowed substantially. As a result, they offer better value to local buyers, who were primarily behind the weekend's strong showing at the two launches.