Sim Lim Square is a 99-year leasehold commercial building with 492 strata-titled units. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Two adjacent retail units at Sim Lim Square have been put up for auction by Knight Frank with a total guide price of $4.56 million. One unit is 581 sq ft and has a guide price of $1.81 million ($3,115 psf), while the second unit is 882 sq ft with a guide price of $2.75 million ($3,118 psf).
An owner’s sale, the two retail units were first put on auction by Knight Frank on Feb 16, but the auction failed to secure a successful bidder.
Tech hub Sim Lim Square is a strata-titled commercial development on Rochor Canal Road in District 7. The development, completed in 1987, sits on a 78,152 sq ft plot with a 99- year land tenure that started in 1983. It has 492 commercial units across six floors and two basement levels. (Find Singapore commercial properties with our commercial directory)
The property sits on a corner plot at the junction of Rochor Canal Road and Bencoolen Street. Nearby are Rochor and Jalan Besar MRT Stations on the Downtown Line, and Bugis MRT Interchange Station, which connects the East-West and the Downtown Lines.
Recent shifts in the retail environment and consumer preferences towards e-commerce have impacted the mall’s footfall. Many of the ageing owners of the strata units are also planning to retire.
Some owners started laying the groundwork for a second collective sale attempt around September last year. In 2019, the development launched the first collective sale tender with a reserve price of $1.25 billion. The tender, however, did not attract a buyer.
Acquiring two retail units at Sim Lim Square may allow the new owner to capitalise on a potential en bloc windfall. Also, both units would generate recurring rental income for the new owner. The units are leased to an entertainment operator on a fresh three-year lease that started in February, with an option to extend for a subsequent three years.
Based on caveats tabulated by EdgeProp Singapore over the last 12 months, Sim Lim Square’s retail units command high rental rates. Rents have hit as high as $15.50 psf per month (pm), with the average rental being about $9.70 psf pm.
The rental yield is about 4.7%, which is higher than other 99-year leasehold commercial developments in the area. For example, the neighbouring Sim Lim Tower in Jalan Besar recorded an average rental of $4.69 psf pm and a rental yield of about 2.6%, based on caveats submitted over the past 12 months.
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