SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Three units in T99, an industrial development at Tuas South Avenue 10, are being marketed by the auction team at Colliers International this month. All three are mortgagee sales and listed for sale by private treaty. The properties — which can be bought individually — comprise a 7,825 sq ft unit that has a guide price of $1.91 million ($244 psf), a 7,664 sq ft unit going for $1.68 million ($219 psf) and a 8,148 sq ft unit selling from about $1.5 million ($184 psf).
Completed in 2016, T99 is a Business 2 industrial project by Soon Hock Group, a commercial and industrial developer. It sits on a 30–development that sits on a 30–year leasehold site that includes 99 factory units and a 40 ft container ramp up access to each floor. Located within the western region of the island, T99 is close to the Tuas Biomedical Park and the upcoming Tuas Mega Port, which is expected to open in phases from 2021.
“The three units at T99 come with ramp up access and a high ceiling of about seven metres. They are custom built to handle heavy manufacturing operations. It is also uncommon to find available industrial units in Tuas that are over 7,000 sq ft. This makes them sizeable to house manufacturing operations, while remaining relatively affordable,” says Samuel Choo, associate director at Colliers International.
Over the past few years, some factory operators have preferred to buy industrial property to run their operations as opposed to renting the space, says Choo. These businesses are also fleeing relatively high rents as a result of over-speculative industrial property buying from 2010 to 2013, he adds.
“Successive rounds of property cooling measures on the local residential market at the time caused some cash–rich investors to redirect their capital to industrial properties. While this drove up prices, it was not sustainable as the market could not absorb the correspondingly high rents,” says Choo.
Some investors without adequate holding power have also been forced to sell their properties at a discount. This is especially so for properties with shorter, 30–year leases. “Some have even been forced to sell at close to 50% discount from their purchase price,” Choo explains.
Over the past three years, Choo has seen a small number of investors return to the industrial market to capitalise on the discounted prices. “They are more selective, going for properties with existing leases and relatively steady rental yields,” he says, but adds that investors are competing with end–users who are also capitalising on the fall in prices to pick up affordable properties for their operations.
While some buyers are holding off purchases given the uncertain economic outlook amid the ongoing Covid–19 pandemic, Choo says there are also buyers with adequate cash reserves who are also willing to pick up properties on the cheap.
As a result, the Colliers auction team has seen enquiries for affordable industrial units go up by about 30%–50% over the past three years. Choo also notes that buyers tend to focus on private treaty and bank sale units and are more likely to close deals for units that are priced close to $1 million.
Choo expects the three industrial units at T99 to attract factory operators looking for a sizeable space for their operations that is priced affordably, so as to keep their costs down.
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