Newton condo up for sale again - at lower price
Owners seeking $48m, down from 2008 level; another site off Balestier sold below asking price
By Joyce Teo
THE collective sale scene is seeing more launches but prices are certainly not going through the roof, as the Melrose Court and Maison Royale cases show.
The Melrose Court sale was signed and sealed last week, but at a level below the asking price, while the Maison Royale condo is again up for offers after coming up short in 2008.
Owners at freehold Maison Royale in Newton are now asking for $48 million for the 20-unit estate - down from the asking price of $50 million two years ago.
The 2008 tender closed without attracting a bid above the reserve price.
The new asking price works out to about $1,220 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr). Owners could reap about $2.2 million to $2.59 million each, depending on unit sizes.
Marketing agent Urban Front Real Estate said the owners have obtained 80 per cent approval. It said the signature-collecting process started last month and the slightly lower asking price is just a marketing strategy to entice developers.
The site can be redeveloped into a project with 40 units averaging 988 sq ft, said Urban Front.
'This is a small plot and it is freehold, so the risk for developers is small,' said associate director Victor Tng. He added that interest rates are low and developers are running low on their land banks.
'The recent measures would have a short-term impact on the market and may not affect developers' interest in good collective sale sites,' Mr Tng said.
Meanwhile, freehold Melrose Court was offloaded last week for $44 million - below the $48 million asking price but about 5 per cent to 10 per cent above the reserve, said Colliers International, which brokered the sale.
The land price for the site off Balestier Road works out to about $665 psf ppr, including an approximate development charge of $277,235 based on a gross plot ratio of 2.8.
The buyer is Melrose Land, formed by a group of investors. The sale is subject to the approval of the Strata Titles Board.
If it goes through, each owner will reap gross proceeds from $1.129 million to $2.261 million, depending on unit sizes, said Colliers International.
Its executive director of investment sales, Mr Ho Eng Joo, said the cooling measures announced on Monday will not affect price expectations for en bloc deals as owners cannot revise their reserve price during the sale process, but they could affect the sentiment of some potential buyers.
Nevertheless, 'buying land is different from buying a completed product because it takes several months to a year or more for a development site to be launched for sale', said Mr Ho. 'By then, market conditions might have changed.'
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
Marketing agent Urban Front Real Estate says the freehold Maison Royale site in Newton can be redeveloped into a project with 40 units averaging 988 sq ft. -- PHOTO: URBAN FRONT REAL ESTATE
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