Singapore’s luxury non-landed market (commonly tracked as condominium transactions S$5 million and above) snapped back strongly in 2025, with multiple research houses and market coverage pointing to a clear rebound. One widely cited datapoint: luxury condo sales (S$5m+) rose 55.9% year-on-year to about S$2.6 billion in 2025.

1) 2025’s luxury surge happened inside a “moderating but active” market

A key point many buyers miss: 2025 was not a runaway, overheating year for the overall private market—price growth moderated, but activity stayed healthy.

URA’s year-end statistics showed private home prices rose about 3.3% in 2025, slower than 2024’s pace.
At the same time, new home sales volume jumped—URA-reported developer sales for 2025 (excluding ECs) came in at 10,815 units, up from 6,469 in 2024.

This matters because luxury demand didn’t rise in isolation. It rose in a year where:

• price growth was controlled, and

• transaction momentum returned thanks to more launches and less rate shock.

That’s exactly the kind of environment where affluent buyers step in confidently: not chasing a “bubble,” but rotating into assets they believe will hold value.

2) The #1 buzz driver: a fresh wave of CCR launches “reset” attention and pricing anchors

Business Times’ analysis noted a “flurry” of new prime launches that spurred fresh interest, and also highlighted an important mechanism: new 99-year leasehold prime launches lifted median CCR pricing, which then made older freehold resales and trophy assets stand out (either as “relative value” or as “rarity”).

In plain English:

• When a new prime project launches at a new benchmark, it re-anchors expectations.

• Buyers then re-price the whole CCR opportunity set:

  • “Do I buy the shiny new launch at a premium?”

  • “Or do I buy an older, reputable, larger freehold unit at a discount?”

  • “Or do I go for a trophy / branded residence because scarcity is the point?”

That “re-anchoring effect” is a classic reason why luxury cycles can turn quickly—especially if multiple launches arrive within the same 6–12 month window.

3) Rates: easing financing pressure changed behaviour (even at the top end)

CBRE’s luxury market figures explicitly linked luxury apartment sales rebound to new launches and lower interest rates, reporting that in H1 2025, luxury apartment sales were up strongly and average luxury apartment prices increased.

Even wealthy buyers respond to rates—just differently:

• Some pay mostly cash, but still care about opportunity cost.

• Some use leverage strategically (for portfolio efficiency).

• Many treat rate direction as a sentiment signal: falling/easing rates often unlock “I’ll act now” confidence.

This is why, in 2025, luxury sales could rise sharply even though the broader economy still had uncertainties (trade frictions, geopolitics), because the cost-of-capital story improved.

4) “Safe haven” logic strengthened — and the Singapore dollar helped

Luxury buyers tend to have the same core question: Where can I park capital with strong rule-of-law and long-term demand visibility? In 2025, multiple commentaries pointed to Singapore’s safe-haven appeal and stable environment as a key underpinning for luxury deal flow.

When risk rises globally, high-quality real assets in stable jurisdictions can look “cheap” relative to uncertainty—especially for globally mobile wealth.

5) Stamp duties reshaped the buyer mix, not the demand for prime assets

One of the most important (and often misunderstood) points: 2023 stamp duty hikes continued to keep foreign buyers at bay, according to the Business Times analysis.

So why did luxury still climb?

Because demand didn’t disappear; it shifted:

• toward Singaporeans and PRs, and

• toward buyers who can justify holding power for 7–10 years (or more),

• plus “trophy buyers” who purchase for lifestyle, legacy, or branding rather than yield.

CBRE also highlighted demand being supported by newly minted PRs and citizens (who face lower ABSD than foreigners).

Net: policy didn’t “kill” luxury. It filtered the buyer pool—often leaving behind buyers with stronger holding power.

6) “New launch premium” created a resale value story in prime districts

A very practical driver: the gap between new prime pricing and resale prime pricing.

EdgeProp, citing Knight Frank commentary, noted that for high-rise prime luxury homes above a certain size benchmark, new sales median psf was far higher than resale, framing the resale segment as a value pocket for discerning buyers.

When the price spread becomes obvious, buyers who want prime addresses—but don’t want to overpay new-launch premiums—rotate into:

• completed projects,

• larger family-sized layouts,

• older “blue chip” developments with strong land profiles and liveability.

This is exactly the type of “relative value” logic that often powers a sustained luxury cycle beyond the first year of rebound.

7) Branded residences and trophy deals became headline fuel

Luxury markets run on narrative as much as fundamentals. In 2025, trophy and branded residence transactions generated “buzz density”—the kind that pulls more buyers into viewing galleries.

EdgeProp’s recap highlighted record-breaking psf transactions and the appeal of branded residences for buyers seeking hospitality-grade services, exclusivity, and asset branding.

These stories matter because:

• they create a psychological “ceiling benchmark”,

• they validate Singapore’s position in the global luxury conversation,

• and they help normalise the idea that premium pricing is “accepted” if the product is differentiated enough.

8) Supply wasn’t tight everywhere — but prime supply felt scarce because it’s not easily replicated

Singapore’s government has been ramping up supply via GLS to support housing needs. For example, URA noted a higher Confirmed List supply for private housing units in 2025.

But luxury buyers don’t buy “units”; they buy attributes:

• prime micro-locations,

• prestigious streets,

• Orchard/Marina/CCR adjacency,

• rare views,

• freehold/999-year scarcity,

• and “only-one-in-the-market” layouts.

So even if the national supply pipeline is healthy, the truly prime subset can still feel scarce—especially if several launches are absorbed well.

Will the luxury condo buzz continue into 2026 and beyond?

It can continue—but not as a straight line. The most realistic outlook is continued strength with more selectivity, supported by these conditions:

What supports continuation

1. Rate environment that stays supportive
   If financing conditions remain stable or easing, luxury buyers stay active.

2. Pipeline of compelling prime launches
   Fresh launches keep attention and transaction velocity high—especially when product is differentiated.

3. Domestic/PR depth remains strong
   Foreign demand is constrained by ABSD dynamics, so the market leans more on locals/PRs; 2025 showed that this pool can be deep enough when sentiment improves.

4. Wealth-preservation flows
   In uncertain global climates, Singapore’s positioning can keep attracting capital.

What could slow the market

1. Another round of cooling measures
   Singapore policy is proactive. If prices accelerate too quickly or speculation rises, policy risk returns.

2. Global shocks / risk-off events
   Luxury is resilient, but not immune; it can pause when uncertainty spikes.

3. Too much “me-too luxury” supply
   If launches feel undifferentiated, buyers get picky and absorption slows—especially at ultra-premium psf.

Bottom line: The “buzz” can persist, but luxury demand will likely concentrate in projects that deliver rare attributes (location, branding, design, scarcity), while second-tier prime stock may take longer to move.

What luxury demand means for OCR launches — and why it helps Tengah Garden Residences’ positioning

Here’s the key SEO takeaway many marketers overlook:

When luxury (CCR) activity rises, it often fuels an upgrader chain:

• profits/wealth effects from prime assets,

• plus sentiment that property remains a core store-of-value,

• pushes demand outward into RCR and OCR where buyers can still find value per psf and family functionality.

Meanwhile, URA’s 2025 market stats show the mainstream market stayed active even as price growth moderated—this is a healthy “volume + stability” combo, not a fragile boom.

That’s an ideal narrative environment for an OCR project: you position it as smart value, not cheap—a future-forward choice for buyers who want strong fundamentals without paying “trophy premiums.”

Tengah Garden Residences: the fundamentals you can anchor to credible sources

If you’re building a SEO-centric story for Tengah Garden Residences, lean on verifiable, high-credibility land and planning facts.

1) Tengah Garden Avenue land parcel is a URA GLS site awarded in Jan 2025

URA published the tender award for the Tengah Garden Avenue site to the joint venture (Intrepid Investments / CSC Land / GuocoLand).

2) The bid price and land details are disclosed

URA’s annex shows the top bid at S$675,000,000, plus site parameters such as 99-year lease, site area, and allowable development (“Residential with Commercial at 1st Storey”).

3) The consortium confirmed the award and potential yield

GuocoLand’s SGX announcement stated URA accepted the bid price S$675m, the parcel is 99 years, and it can potentially yield about 860 residential units, with zoning “Residential with Commercial at 1st Storey.”