The enbloc fever in Singapore does not seems to subside but only get hotter. Not only that record prices have reached for collective sales in their respective regions, but ever more estates are hopping onto the wagon.
The popular East Coast/Katong area also hit headlines recently. Notwithstanding the recent transaction in July for The Albracca, a 10-storey residential development (23,400 sq ft) site along Meyer Road, which has been successfully sold in its first attempt at a collective sale to Sustained Land for S$69.1 million, two prime sites in the vicinity has also hit their respective jackpots.
1. Nanak Mansions
The freehold Nanak Mansions development in upmarket Meyer Road has been bought by an associate of UOL Group in a $201.1 million en bloc deal. Secure Venture Development (No. 1), UOL’s associate company, will redevelop the 10,185 sq m site, which has a gross plot ratio of 1.4.
Meyer Road is dubbed as ‘Nassim Residences of the East’ — a highly coveted location in the popular seaside area in Singapore. It is a low-rise development completed in the 1980s, located less than 0.5km from the upcoming Tanjong Katong MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line. Currently it comprises 36 maisonettes, each with either four or five bedrooms, all belonging to members and companies of a low-profile Singaporean Indian family. All 36 units have been rented out.
The site may be redeveloped into a five-storey project with a maximum gross floor area of 153,482 sq ft. This means it can accommodate a maximum of 203 units with an average size of around 700 sq ft in terms of gross floor area. The $201.1 million price tag works out to $1,429 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in development charges payable upon redevelopment. This is comparable to the $1,409 psf ppr obtained for The Albracca at $69.1 million.
2. Amber Park
A 200-unit freehold condominium in Katong, Amber Park has been taken for S$906.7 million by its original developer CDL. This is the fourth time that Amber Park has been put up for sale. There are as many as eight bids for this prime site.
Built in 1986, the new winning party includes City Developments Ltd (CDL), through its wholly owned subsidiary Cityzens Development, and joint-venture partner Hong Realty.
The sale price reflects a land rate of about S$1,515 per sq ft per plot ratio, based on the allowable gross plot ratio of 2.8, in Singapore’s largest freehold collective sale by dollar value. At this sale price, the owners would expect to receive between S$4.3 million and S$8.3 million.
The winning consortium intends to redevelop Amber Park into a luxury condominium development comprising four 25-storey blocks with close to 800 units and a basement carpark. The current site has an area of 213,675 sq ft, and an allowable gross floor area of about 598,290 sq ft. The Tanjong Katong MRT station, located 200m from the site, will be completed in 2023.
The aggressive bid exhibits optimism among developers for Singapore property market. Though this may bring good news for property sellers, many industry experts caution against overtly optimism which may not be sustainable in the short term as loan interest rates looks poised to increase and rental market remains in the doldrums for the recent years.
