Thomson Village strata units, site on collective sale

Separate Colliers auction sees 2 shop units, 2 houses and 1 apartment sold

(SINGAPORE) The owners of eight freehold strata-titled commercial units and vacant site at Thomson Village, off Upper Thomson Road, have joined forces to sell their properties through a tender. The properties have a combined site area of 13,387 sq ft and an asking price of $24 million.

Under Master Plan 2008, the site is zoned for commercial use. 'The plot ratio is not indicated but the site is under a streetblock plan, which means the potential developer will have to follow an envelope control guideline for the area set by Urban Redevelopment Authority. The properties could be redeveloped into a low-rise specialty retail mall,' said Galven Tan, assistant manager (investment properties) at CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing the site.

'Depending on the design of a new development, a 2.8 plot ratio could be achieved,' according to Mr Tan. Plot ratio is the ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area. Assuming this plot ratio, an estimated development charge (DC) of $5 million would be payable to the state. The $24 million price works out to $774 psf per plot ratio inclusive of DC.

The owners of the strata commercial units and the vacant site have signed a collective sale agreement, which means the sale will not be subject to an application to the Strata Titles Board. The tender closes on Nov 25.

There is adjoining state land of about 6,400 sq ft that could potentially be purchased by the successful bidder, CBRE says.

Separately, at an auction conducted by Colliers International yesterday, five properties were sold - an apartment at The Horizon at Holt Road; two freehold landed houses at Jalan Taman and Lowland Road, both off Upper Serangoon Road; and a shop unit each at Sim Lim Square and Golden Landmark.

The ground floor unit at Sim Lim Square, which involved a liquidator sale, was sold to a private investor for $3.75 million, reflecting $6,970 psf based on the unit's 538 sq ft strata area. The unit faces the main concourse. Last week, Second Chance Properties picked up 22 shop units at Sim Lim Square for $35 million or an average price of $3,644 psf based on their total area of 9,604 sq ft.

Over at Golden Landmark, near Bugis MRT Station, a 355 sq ft corner shop on the third floor with double frontage changed hands at $365,000 or $1,028 psf.

The third-floor freehold apartment at The Horizon was sold for $1.8 million or $1,154 psf. The two-storey intermediate terrace house at Jalan Taman was sold for $1.25 million or $630 psf of land area.

At 74 Lowland Road, which is next to a temple, the three-storey semi-detached house with six bedrooms was sold for $1.72 million or $636 psf of land area. The buyer is understood to be a former Chinese national who is now a Singapore citizen.

Source: Business Times, 29 Oct 2009