Last Wednesday, Credo Real Estate sealed the first collective sale of the year.
Four owners of a Balestier industrial plot benefited when they sold their Jalan Ampas site – which can be converted into residential use – for $27.5 million.
More such deals are likely to be inked this year, after a dry year when just one collective sale was done. That was Block 18 of Dragon Mansion, completed in early December.
But the success rate will depend a lot on the market and owners’ expectations, consultants said.
Already, property consultants say many owners are again placing their hopes on hitting the collective-sale jackpot, in line with the improved property market and brighter economic outlook.
‘More estates are now forming sales committees to either start the sale process or re-start the process for those that had not been transacted successfully previously,’ said CKS Property Consultants’ investment manager Chia Mein Mein.
An industry observer pointed out that most developers are running out of land for mass market projects, so they are very keen to buy.
‘But prime land is another story. They still have quite a lot of it.’
Credo Real Estate’s deputy managing director Tan Hong Boon said: ‘We should see more activities towards the end of this year as many owners are keen to start the collective-sale process now.’
With more inquiries coming in, property consultants are busy pitching for jobs.
Many keen estates are those that had tried to sell en bloc but failed in the previous peak in 2007, the consultants said.
These include Pender Court off West Coast Highway, Royalville in Bukit Timah and Hawaii Tower in Meyer Road.
Collective-sale launches so far this year include the 11-unit Holland Hill Lodge, which was put up for sale en bloc last month at an indicative price range of $15 million to $16 million, or $1,038 to $1,107 per sq ft per plot ratio.
More launches can be expected from the second quarter, said Mr Tan.
A total of 116 collective sales were done at the peak of the property boom of 2007.
This figure slipped to only eight in 2008 amid the global financial crisis.
This year, there will certainly be more sales, consultants predict. However, some owners of prime or mid-end projects continue to hope for prices that are above the previous peak, they said.
Now that resale prices are moving up, more people are worried that they cannot get a similar replacement property, explained a consultant who declined to be named.
Still, the problem is the gap between buyers and sellers’ expectations.
‘There’s still a great mismatch in prices. Developers are quite cautious,’ he said.
Source: Sunday Times, 7 Feb 2010
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