There are three mixed-use developments with apartments at the cross junction of Bencoolen Street and Rochor Road near the Rochor MRT station. They are Burlington Square, Sunshine Plaza and The Bencoolen.
Of the three 99-year leasehold complexes, Burlington Square seems to be holding its prices better than the others. This is despite the fact that it is the oldest of the three, having been completed in 1998, whereas The Bencoolen was completed in 1999 and Sunshine Plaza in 2001.
Burlington Square was developed by a consortium comprising Singapore-listed City Developments, Hong Realty (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDL’s parent company Hong Leong Group) and listed company Wing Tai Holdings. The 19-year-old mixed use project contains 179 apartments, which are a mix of one- to four-bedroom units. One-bedroom units measure 600 to 800 sq ft; two-bedroom units, 800 to 1,200 sq ft; three-bedroom units, 1,000 to 1,800 sq ft; and four-bedroom units, from 2,000 sq ft.
Marcus Chai, a property agent with ERA Realty, says Burlington Square is popular with homebuyers because it is within walking distance of the Rochor MRT station on the Downtown Line and the Bugis MRT interchange station on the Downtown and East West Lines. It is also close to Stamford Primary School, St Margaret’s Primary School, LaSalle College of the Arts and the three campuses of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
A 1,087 sq ft, three-bedroom apartment at Burlington Square was recently listed for sale on TheEdgeProperty.com.sg. According to Chai, who is marketing the unit, the asking price is $1.38 million ($1,269 psf), and the unit is currently leased until February 2019 at a monthly rental rate of $4,100, or a gross rental yield of 3.6%. The owner of the unit is said to be a foreigner who is looking to relocate to another country.
There have been two transactions at Burlington Square so far this year, both done in April. One was that of a 1,119 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that fetched $1.488 million ($1,329 psf); the other was that of an 872 sq ft, two-bedroom unit that was sold for $1 million ($1,147 psf).
Meanwhile, there were also two transactions in April at the 160-unit Sunshine Plaza. Both deals involved 1,130 sq ft three-bedroom units: One, on the eighth floor, was sold for $1.42 million ($1,256 psf); the other, on the 11thfloor, fetched $1.39 million ($1,230 psf).
At the 94-unit The Bencoolen, there was one transaction this year: A 1,044 sq ft, three-bedroom unit was sold for $1.268 million ($1,214 psf) in March.