SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - A pair of 999-year leasehold shophouses at 77 & 79 Dunlop Street will be offered at Knight Frank’s auction event on July 22. The properties have a combined guide price of $8 million and will be offered for private treaty sale. The owner wants to sell both properties together. (See also: 999-year leasehold two-storey detached house in Kovan for sale from $10 mil)

The pair of shophouses was first put up for sale last month. According to Sharon Lee, head of auctions at Knight Frank, the owner wanted to gauge the level of buying interest and the properties were not actively marketed then.

The adjoining properties are in the Little India Conservation Area. Nearby MRT stations include Little India Station on the North-East Line, as well as Rochor and Jalan Besar Stations on the Downtown Line. “These properties boast a prominent street frontage along Dunlop Street. They also feature an uncommon pre-war shophouse façade that might be attractive to some discerning owners,” she says.

The shophouses sit on a combined 2,687 sq ft plot that is zoned “commercial” under the latest Master Plan. The two-storey shophouses have a total gross floor area of about 4,500 sq ft. The guide price translates to $1,777 psf on the floor area.

The properties are also fully tenanted. The ground-floor unit at 77 Dunlop Street is leased to a 7-11 convenience store, while the ground-floor unit at 79 Dunlop Street is leased to a provision shop.

The second-floor space of both shophouses has been combined into a single office space that is also rented out. According to the property listing, the office space is leased for $2,300 per month and the ground-floor units have a combined rent of $10,150 per month. According to Lee, some of the existing tenants are in the process of renegotiating their lease.

“The fact that these shophouses are already fully tenanted makes them more appealing, because it means the new owner can start receiving rental income,” she says.

The shophouses have attracted an increasing number of enquiries, Lee says. She has received enquiries from investors who are keen to add the properties to their portfolios. She has also received some enquiries from end-users such as family offices and companies.

The owner of the two shophouses has also been GST de-registered. According to Lee, this means that the buyer would not need to pay GST on the sale of the property, as well as any additional buyer’s stamp duty, since it is a commercial property.

“Overall buying interest in shophouses has remained strong this year. There are not many available shophouses on the auction market now. Most of the shophouses that were listed for sale at auction have been sold, and owners are unwilling to put more of these assets up for sale,” says Lee.

Check out the latest listings near Dunlop Street, Little India Conservation Area, Little India MRT Station, Rochor MRT Station, Jalan Besar MRT Station