UNDER THE HAMMER: Unit at Orchard Scotts going from $3.5 mil

A 2,282 sq ft, three-bedroom-plus-study unit at Orchard Scotts will be put up for auction by the auctioneer at Edmund Tie & Co (ET&Co) on July 25, at a starting price of $3.5 million ($1,534 psf). The 20-storey condominium by Far East Organization is located on Anthony Road, in prime District 9.

The vendor of the unit is the Management Corporation Strata Title of the building. The apartment is owned by a foreigner, who purchased it for $5.9 million ($2,585 psf) in 2011, according to URA data. Under Section 43 of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, an MCST sale typically occurs when the owner defaults on the monthly maintenance fees.

The unit will be sold on an “as is where is basis”. As there is a current occupant, the new buyer will need to obtain a writ of vacant possession against the occupant after completion of purchase, says Joy Tan, head of auction and sales at ET&Co.

There have been two resale transactions at Orchard Scotts so far this year, which involved a 936 sq ft unit in June and a 2,174 sq ft unit in March, as seen from caveats lodged. The 936 sq ft unit, which is on the 16th floor, fetched $1.655 million ($1,768 psf), while the bigger unit, on the fourth floor, changed hands for $3.45 million ($1,587 psf).

Located on the 13th floor, the unit to be auctioned is of a good size with a nice layout, says Tan. While the unit is originally a three-bedder, its master bedroom can be subdivided into two rooms due to its size, she adds. A 99-year leasehold development, Orchard Scotts comprises 387 units. The condo is a seven-minute walk from the Newton MRT station on the North-South and Downtown lines. It is also near the Orchard Road shopping belt and 700m from Anglo-Chinese School (Junior).

The upcoming sale is “very rare as seldom do we see an MCST sale, hence there has been a lot of enquiries and interest”, says Tan.