Property highlights of the week from July 30 to August 3:
1) Roxy-Pacific plans to launch five more developments this year
Singapore-listed property developer Roxy-Pacific plans to launch five more developments in Singapore by the end of 2018, out of eight development sites in its pipeline. The developer will time the upcoming launches “appropriately”, and will continue to take “a prudent stance” to land acquisitions with a preference towards freehold sites, says Teo Hong Lim, CEO of Roxy-Pacific, in its half-year results release. “We’ve replenished our sites relatively early into the cycle, before the en bloc fever, at very reasonable prices.”
The latest property cooling measures “do not equate a total standstill” and the market is still in the “nascent stage of recovery”, says Teo. Adjusted property prices may still be affordable to buyers, and “a majority of the Group’s buyers are first-timers who are less affected by the cooling measures in terms of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty hikes, discounting the slight reduction in borrowing”, says Teo. Its latest launches include the freehold, 25-unit Straits Mansions which is fully sold, and the freehold, 57-unit Harbour View Garden which is 96% sold to date.
2) Bungalow of Lim Kim San’s estate for sale above $100 mil
A freehold Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in District 10, which was owned by one of Singapore’s founding fathers, has been put up for sale at more than $100 million.
The bungalow, at 81 Dalvey Road, is a two-minute drive to Singapore Botanic Gardens. A property title search shows that the GCB belongs to the estate of the late Lim Kim San, who, as the first chairman of HDB, oversaw the wide-scale construction of public housing for Singaporeans.
The two-storey home sits on 51,058 sq ft of elevated ground, one of the highest points in the neighbourhood. It is in the White House Park GCB Area — one of the most sought-after locations out of 39 gazetted GCB areas in Singapore — and in proximity to foreign embassies such as those of Israel, Russia, Japan and the Philippines. Owing to its location, the area is home to many foreign high commissioners and ambassadors.
The tender for 81 Dalvey Road will close on Sept 12. Based on the price tag of $100 million, the land cost translates into $1,959 psf.
3) Reserve price for Windy Heights may fall $56 mil
The owners of Windy Heights in Kembangan have launched a second collective sale attempt for the freehold condominium, says marketing agent Knight Frank Singapore. The development has the same reserve price of $806.2 million which it set during its first collective sale attempt in February.
However, more than 50% of the owners have already agreed to revise the reserve price to $750 million, according to Ian Loh, head of investment and capital markets at Knight Frank Singapore. The collective sale committee of Windy Heights needs 80% of the owners to consent to the new price before they can market it for that price.
4) Two office floors at TPI Building on the market for $24 mil
Two contiguous office floors on the 5th and 6th levels of the TPI Building in Raffles Place are on the market for $24 million, or $3,000 psf on strata area. The 35-year-old building is a six-storey, 999-year leasehold office development, and the two office floors have a total strata area of 8,008 sq ft. Each floor is being sold with existing tenancies, says marketing agent JLL.
The TPI Building has a maximum plot ratio of 12.6+. There are only three existing owners within the development, which has an existing plot ratio of 6.8. Owners may band together to redevelop the building in order to maximise its plot ratio, or works can be done to refresh and improve the image of the building, says Clarence Lee, associate director at JLL.
Foreigners are eligible to purchase the property, and there are no Additional Buyers Stamp Duty or Sellers Stamp Duty imposed on the purchase.