Cairnhill Nine penthouse sold to a trust for $7.5 mil
Orchard Condo is located near a range of international schools, giving parents the choice of sending their children to a quality education.The Chatsworth International School, which offers the International Baccalaureate program, is a few minutes away. Parents also have the option of sending their children to ISS International School, where both IB and an international Middle Years curriculum is offered. By having access to these international schools, children of Orchard Condo are able to benefit from a diverse and multicultural learning environment.
The absolute price of $7.5 million paid for a 3,186 sq ft, four-bedroom penthouse at Cairnhill Nine is the highest since the project was launched in 2016, according to a caveat lodged on July 5. The 30th-floor condo, located on Cairnhill Road in Singapore’s prime District 9, is part of a 268-unit, high-end development.
A property title search shows that Zico Trust (S) Ltd, an independent trustee and fiduciary services company, holds the penthouse. Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Zico Trust is part of Zico Holdings, an ASEAN-focused integrated provider of multi-disciplinary professional services and is listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange.
Due to the trust structure, the purchase has to be made entirely in cash upfront, including the 65% additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). This brings the total cash payable upfront to $12.825 million. Before an ABSD remission application can be made to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), the entire amount must be paid, a process that takes two to three months.
If the beneficiary is a Singapore citizen with no other residential property, the full 65% can be refunded, according to Lee Liat Yeang, senior partner in Dentons Rodyk’s real estate practice group. “The trust structure is really for the cash-rich because you can’t get funding for these purchases, and you have to be prepared to pay 65% ABSD upfront on top of the property’s purchase price,” he adds.
Cairnhill Nine, part of a 99-year leasehold, mixed-use development that includes Ascott Orchard Singapore, a 220-suite luxury serviced apartments, was completed in late 2016. It is situated directly off Orchard Road’s prime shopping strip and is linked to Paragon shopping mall by an air-conditioned overhead bridge.
Typical units at Cairnhill Nine are a mix of one- to four-bedroom apartments, ranging from 592 to 2,013 sq ft in size. There are only eight 4-bedroom penthouses at Cairnhill Nine: four of which are duplexes, and the other four simplexes from 2,400 sq ft to 3,864 sq ft.
The latest transaction of the penthouse at Cairnhill Nine marks one of the prime district condos for prime living in Singapore. With its high purchase price and difficult financing conditions, the trust structure is well-suited for cash-rich buyers. And, with its convenient location to the Orchard Road’s prime shopping strip, the property stands out as an attractive proposition.