Do property auctions deliver bargains? Condo sales linked to money laundering case offer a mixed answer

Four of 19 condo units linked to Singapore’s $3 billion money laundering case sold for a combined $16.28 million at SRI’s auction on Sept 23.

All four changed hands below their opening prices. But did their buyers pay less than market value?

A comparison with resale transactions at Martin Modern and Wallich Residence suggests the answer varies by unit.

One Martin Modern apartment appears to have sold at a modest discount after allowing for floor differences. The other fetched a price close to comparable sales.

Read also: Four condo units seized in money laundering case sold at auction for $2.08 mil to $6.6 mil

At Wallich Residence, the size of the discount depends on which past sale is used for comparison and when it took place.

For this analysis, comparable transactions were adjusted by 0.4% for each floor separating them from the auction unit. This is a working assumption within the broad 0.3%–0.5% guide we have previously used. Same-stack and same-size transactions were prioritised.

These comparisons do not account for differences in condition or renovation needs. Some buyers may also be put off by a property’s links to the money laundering case.

Table: Transacted prices at auction vs. estimated market values

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Table: SRI, URA, EdgeProp Research

Martin Modern: #26-10

At Martin Modern, the strongest evidence of a discount comes from unit #26-10.

Its auction price was $39,300, or 1.8%, below its last purchase price from the developer in 2020, before stamp duties and other costs.

A unit 13 floors below it, #13-10, sold for $2.1 million in August 2026. Another apartment in the same stack, #17-10, changed hands for $2.15 million in December 2025. All three have the same floor area.

Adjusting those transactions to the 26th floor produces benchmarks of about $2.209 million and $2.227 million. Their average is $2.218 million, putting the auction result about $98,000, or 4.4%, below it.

Read also: Two-bedroom loft at Tanjong Pagar’s Icon heads to auction at $2.2 mil

This buyer therefore appears to have secured a relatively attractive price for the higher floor, assuming comparable condition.

Martin Modern: #17-06

The other Martin Modern sale, unit #17-06, gives a different result.

Its auction price was $63,000, or 3.1%, above its last purchase price from the developer in 2020, before stamp duties and other costs.

The closest floor comparisons are #18-06, which sold for $2.058 million in October 2025, and #15-06, which fetched $2.1 million in September 2025. Adjusted to the 17th floor, they imply values of approximately $2.050 million and $2.117 million.

Their average of $2.083 million is just $3,000 above the auction result. More recent same-stack sales support a similar reading: after floor adjustments, #11-06’s July 2026 transaction implies about $2.107 million, while #13-06’s March sale implies $2.032 million.

On this evidence, #17-06 sold broadly in line with the market. Its auction sale does not show a meaningful discount or premium.

Wallich Residence: #53-01

At Wallich Residence, #53-01 initially looks like a more substantial bargain.

The same-sized #55-01, two floors above, fetched $6.03 million in May 2025. Adjusting that price down two floors gives a benchmark of $5.982 million, against which the auction unit sold about $502,000, or 8.4%, lower.

Read also: Two units at Haus on Handy in Dhoby Ghaut listed for auction at $2.3 mil and $3.1 mil

However, that transaction preceded the auction by about 16 months. A more recent sale points to a much smaller gap. In December 2025, the 1,722 sq ft #57-08 sold for $5.7 million. Applying its psf price to #53-01’s area, then adjusting down four floors, produces a benchmark of about $5.4 million. The auction price was 1.5% higher.

The different stack could account for differences in layout and view, so this is a less direct comparable. Nevertheless, it shows why the 8.4% gap should be described as a discount to a particular earlier transaction, rather than a proven discount to current market value.

Wallich Residence: #61-02

The same issue affects #61-02 at Wallich Residence.

Using #57-08’s December 2025 transaction, adjusted for area and up four floors, gives a benchmark of about $6.696 million. The auction result was only 1.4% lower.

Using #55-01’s May 2025 sale instead produces a much higher benchmark of $7.415 million after area and floor adjustments. Against that figure, the auction price was 11% lower.

Both comparisons involve smaller apartments in different stacks. Their wide spread makes it difficult to assign a precise current-market discount to #61-02. Adjusting for floor alone cannot resolve differences in layout or the price buyers are willing to pay for a larger home.

Conclusion

The four completed sales show where buyers’ offers and sellers’ acceptance levels met. They do not establish whether the auction process itself increased or reduced the price compared with other methods of sale.

The strongest evidence of a discount among those that went under the hammer, is at Martin Modern #26-10. The other Martin Modern unit traded close to its comparable benchmark.

Wallich Residence’s results sit nearer to the more recent resale evidence than some older transactions might suggest.

For buyers, a useful question is how an auction price compares with genuinely similar homes. For sellers, competitive bidding can improve an offer, but these four sales provide no evidence of a consistent premium from choosing an auction.