Loss-making private home resales climbed to 4.6% islandwide in Q3 2026, the highest in four years. But that number hides a sharp split — in the Core Central Region, nearly one in five resales lost money, while suburban sellers were almost all in the black.
The share of private home resales sold at a loss rose to 4.6% islandwide in Q3 2026, up from 3.7% in Q2 and 3.3% a year ago — the highest proportion since Q2 2022's 6.9%, according to data compiled for The Business Times by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W). But the pain is concentrated: nearly one in five Core Central Region resales lost money, against roughly one in 22 in the suburbs.
The headline number looks modest — fewer than 1 in 20 resale deals lost money in Q3 2026. But that islandwide figure flattens a market that's splitting further apart by region, with prime-district sellers absorbing most of the pain while suburban owners largely cashed out ahead.
C&W studied caveats for private homes with a prior purchase within the preceding 10 years. Of 2,021 matched resale and sub-sale transactions in Q3 2026, 93 were sold at a loss — roughly 1 in 22 deals, or 4.6% of the total. That's up from 3.7% in Q2 2026 and 3.3% a year earlier in Q3 2025, and it's the highest quarterly share since Q2 2022, when 6.9% of transactions were loss-making during the post-pandemic cooling period.
| Quarter | Loss-making share |
|---|---|
| Q2 2022 (recent peak) | 6.9% |
| Q2 2024 (recent low) | 1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | 3.3% |
| Q2 2026 | 3.7% |
| Q3 2026 | 4.6% |
The trend line matters more than any single quarter. Loss-making deals bottomed out at around 1.6% in Q2 2024, then climbed steadily to 3.3%, 3.7% and now 4.6% — four straight readings higher than the one before. This has tracked alongside the slowdown in new home sales I covered after Q3's official price release, where new sale volume fell sharply even as prices rose.
The Core Central Region (CCR) — the prime districts around Orchard, the city centre and Sentosa Cove — accounted for about half (49%) of all loss-making transactions islandwide, and 19.5% of all CCR resales ended in the red, up from 17.7% in Q2. That means close to 1 in 5 CCR sellers who had bought within the past decade sold for less than they paid.
The Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) told a far less painful story. RCR's loss-making share rose to 4.5% (from 2.7% in Q2) and accounted for 30% of all loss-making deals, while the OCR — Singapore's suburban heartland — edged up to just 1.6% (from 1.3%) and made up the remaining 20%.
| Market segment | Loss-making share (Q3 2026) | Loss-making share (Q2 2026) | Share of all loss-making deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Central Region (CCR) | 19.5% | 17.7% | 49% |
| Rest of Central Region (RCR) | 4.5% | 2.7% | 30% |
| Outside Central Region (OCR) | 1.6% | 1.3% | 20% |
Why the CCR gets hit hardest. Prime-district condos were the segment that saw the sharpest price corrections after the 2018 and 2021 cooling measures, particularly the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty hikes that dampened foreign and investor demand in the CCR specifically. Owners who bought near the top of that earlier cycle, and are now selling into a slower, more selective 2026 market, are the ones most exposed to a loss.
C&W's analysis of the five biggest non-landed losses by both percentage and dollar quantum found all were on 99-year leasehold CCR properties.
The steepest percentage loss was at Marina One Residences, where a 710 sq ft unit sold for S$1.25 million in August 2026 — 31.6% below the S$1.83 million it was bought for in July 2018. Over a holding period of 8.1 years, that works out to an annualised loss of 4.6%. By dollar quantum, the heaviest hit was at OUE Twin Peaks, where a 1,604 sq ft unit sold for S$3.88 million in August, a S$1 million (20.2%) loss against its S$4.9 million purchase price in March 2017.
| Project | Loss (S$) | Loss (%) | Holding period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marina One Residences | -S$0.6m | -31.6% | 8.1 yrs |
| OUE Twin Peaks | -S$0.4m | -27.2% | 9.4 yrs |
| Marina One Residences | -S$0.5m | -25.8% | 6.1 yrs |
| OUE Twin Peaks | -S$1.0m | -20.2% | 9.4 yrs |
| V on Shenton | -S$0.7m | -18.8% | 3.8 yrs |
On the other side, freehold developments dominated the biggest gains. Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), the five biggest percentage gainers recorded profits of between 83.9% and 88.1%, with four of the five units in freehold projects. The top gainer was a 1,410 sq ft unit at The Sea View, sold in September for S$4.1 million — a gain of 88.1%, or 6.5% annualised, over a nine-year holding period.
ECs posted the biggest percentage gains overall once included: all five of the top gains by percentage islandwide were at Hundred Palms Residences, a 99-year leasehold EC, with gains ranging from 138.9% to 163.9% over nine-year holding periods.
Yes. Across all profitable resale and sub-sale transactions, the median gain fell to 24.8% in Q3 2026, down from a peak of 30.4% as recently as Q2 2025. Profit margins have been narrowing steadily even as the headline loss-making share rises — two sides of the same story about a resale market where the easy, large gains of the post-pandemic boom are fading.
A worked example, not a prediction (my own illustration from the published figures). Say you bought a CCR condo for S$2 million in 2018. If you're selling today and your unit tracks the median profitable-deal gain of 24.8%, you'd be looking at roughly S$2.5 million — a solid return, but noticeably smaller than if you'd sold at the Q2 2025 median gain of 30.4% (around S$2.6 million). And if your unit is one of the nearly 1 in 5 CCR resales now selling at a loss, that same purchase could instead be changing hands below S$2 million. The gap between these two outcomes is exactly why pricing and timing matter more in today's CCR resale market than it did two years ago.
Work out your likely sale proceeds after your outstanding loan, CPF refund and selling costs before you list, so you know exactly where you stand.
Open the private property sale proceeds calculator →If you bought in the CCR near the top of the 2017–2018 or 2021–2022 cycles, check your actual breakeven before you commit to a listing price. With nearly 1 in 5 CCR resales now loss-making, assuming your unit will automatically clear a profit is no longer a safe bet — a proper valuation against recent comparable transactions matters more than it did two years ago.
If you're holding a freehold unit in an established CCR or RCR location, the data shows these have continued to command the biggest gains even as the overall market cools. That's a reason to price firmly rather than discount pre-emptively, especially if your holding period is past the Seller's Stamp Duty window.
If you're an OCR or suburban seller, you're in the segment least exposed to loss — just 1.6% of OCR deals lost money in Q3. That's a stronger negotiating position than headlines about rising islandwide losses might suggest.
The 4.6% headline number will grab attention, but it's the regional split that actually tells you something useful. A CCR seller and an OCR seller are living in two different markets right now — one where losses are becoming common enough that you need to check your numbers before listing, and one where they're still rare enough that you can price with confidence.
If you own a CCR unit bought during an earlier price peak, I'd get a proper valuation done before you decide on a listing price — the gap between what you think your unit is worth and what it will actually clear has widened, and guessing wrong costs real money either way.
If you're thinking about buying into the CCR while loss-making resales are elevated, that can also be an opening — motivated sellers sometimes price more realistically in this kind of market. Let's go through specific projects and recent transactions together before you decide.
Wondering where your own unit sits — safely in profit, or closer to the loss-making 1 in 5? Let's run the numbers.
WhatsApp Bryan → More guides →Source: The Business Times, 3 November 2026, "1 in 5 prime-region private home resale deals made at a loss in Q3" by Jeanne Mah, citing data compiled by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) from caveats downloaded on 19 October 2026, covering landed and non-landed private homes with a prior purchase within the preceding 10 years. Commentary from Wong Xian Yang, C&W's head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. See also our coverage of the Q3 2026 private home price results and Q4 outlook. The worked example of a CCR unit's sale proceeds is my own illustration using the published median gain figures, for illustration only, and is not a valuation of any specific property. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
No pressure, no obligation. Tell me what you're working through and I'll get back to you within 24 hours to arrange a time that works.
Your details are used solely to follow up on your consultation request. No spam, ever.