BT : Pine Grove to en bloc, $1.7b reserve price: report

Business Times - 17 Nov 2010

Pine Grove to en bloc, $1.7b reserve price: report

THE 99-year leasehold Pine Grove in Ulu Pandan could be up for collective sale again with an estimated reserve price of $1.7 billion, said Channel NewsAsia yesterday.

The deal, if successful, would be the largest in the collective sales market since Farrer Court changed hands for $1.34 billion in 2007.

Channel NewsAsia said that property agents have been gathering residents' signatures since November last year, and they have amassed 80 per cent of votes for the collective sale to start. A cooling period is now in place in case residents change their minds.

The 660-unit Pine Grove is a former HUDC estate. Several discussions had taken place between agents and residents to sell the estate in the last few years. The en bloc fever was particularly strong in 2007 as the property market heated up and developers snapped up several estates.

But not all residents in Pine Grove were keen on a deal then. A 'Save The Pine Grove' group was even formed to stop the sale process.

The collective sales market took a breather during the financial crisis and has revived recently, but deals have involved mostly smaller estates with more affordable price tags.

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