Three shophouses on Balestier Road in District 12 will be put up for auction by Knight Frank on Nov 14. The trio of two-storey shophouses at 457 Balestier Road occupies a 4,736 sq ft, freehold plot and has a guide price of $9.5 million, or a land rate of $2,006 psf. This is the first time the properties will be sold in an auction, and they have been put up by a single corporate owner.
The site is zoned for commercial and residential use with a plot ratio of 3. The shophouses have a total floor area of 6,296 sq ft, and the ground floor units have been amalgamated. A restaurant currently leases the amalgamated ground floor for $13,200 per month, with the lease expiring in April 2020. The three second-storey units are for residential use and are vacant. There is a public carpark behind the shophouses.
The ground floor is occupied by a restaurant, which is leasing it for $13,200 per month (Pictures: Knight Frank Singapore)
In September, a three-storey corner shophouse at 1012 Upper Serangoon Road was sold at Knight Frank’s auction for $7.5 million. The freehold shophouse occupies a 2,329 sq ft site, and the price translates into $3,220 psf on the land area. The ground floor is also tenanted to an F&B outlet, with vacant residential units on the upper floors.
Compared with the price of the Upper Serangoon Road shophouse, the price for the trio of shophouses is “reasonable”, says Sharon Lee, head of auctions at Knight Frank. After the property cooling measures were implemented in July, buying interest in shophouses has grown, and enquiries have already been made regarding the subject properties, she adds.
A three-storey corner shophouse at 1012 Upper Serangoon Road was sold at Knight Frank’s auction for $7.5 million in September
The three properties were purchased for $8.2 million ($1,731 psf) in September 2016, according to URA Realis caveats. The most recent shophouse transaction in the neighbourhood was at 412 Balestier Road, which fetched $6.8 million ($3,289 psf) when it changed hands in July. In September last year, the shophouse at 292 Balestier Road was sold for $4.3 million ($3,024 psf).
The trio of shophouses is close to two new residential projects that were snapped up in collective sales earlier this year. Kemaman Point was bought for $143.9 million ($1,173 psf per plot ratio) by Soilbuild Group in June; Ampas Apartments behind it was sold to Oxley Holdings for $95 million ($1,073 psf ppr) in March. They are also 400m away from the upcoming Tan Tock Seng Integrated Care Hub, part of the Novena Health City master plan development. This will increase footfall on Balestier Road, as well as demand for rental housing in the area, says Lee.