St Thomas Walk site up for en bloc sale
THE Somerset area looks set to become hot property. Prices for en bloc redevelopment sites there will be closely watched, especially now that the latest land sales exercise by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) at Orchard Road/Killiney Road has received a record bid of $1,085 per square foot per plot ratio.
Chez Bright Apartments at 18 St Thomas Walk is the latest property to go on sale in that area. It is marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle, whose regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt believes that any new residential development on the freehold site would be able to sell at $1,500 psf.
The Somerset site is for a mixed development that may include a residential component.
Said Mr Lui: ‘Based on the highest price tendered for the Somerset site, residential units there would have to sell for between $1,700 and $1,800 psf. And these are 99-year leasehold units.’
After factoring in the freehold status of Chez Bright Apartments, and the ‘near prime’ location, Mr Lui said a 15 per cent discount, or $1,500 psf, for the new development on the St Thomas Walk site would not be unreasonable.
The asking price for the 34,402 sq ft Chez Bright site has been set at $61.3 million (including a development charge of $6.3 million) or $640 psf per plot ratio.
The break-even price is around $960-$980 psf.
Five months ago, a larger site also on St Thomas Walk went to Centrepoint Properties for $210 million, or $601 psf per plot ratio.
The present 12-storey apartment block can be developed up to 36 storeys. With a plot ratio of 2.8, the maximum gross floor area is 96,325 sq ft.
There are several new developments in the area already on sale, including Wheelock Properties’ The Cosmopolitan and Guocoland’s Leonie Studios. Still, Mr Lui feels there will be ample demand from foreigners.
‘Foreign investors, especially those from Hong Kong, are looking for this kind of investment grade properties,’ he said.
Source : Business Times - 19 Jan 2006
Loading ...
Post a Comment
Tell me a bit about yourself; who you are, where you're from, what information you would like to see on this site. As I continue to provide you with Singapore property happenings, your feedback will encourage me to post more frequently. Thank you.