ST : 10-unit boutique development sold for $47m

31 Jan 2011,
10-unit boutique development sold for $47m
By Dennis Chan

A 10-UNIT boutique development at Robin Road has been sold to Sing Holdings for $47 million.

With each unit fetching on average $4.7 million in gross proceeds, the sale of Robin Star off Bukit Timah Road understandably had the unanimous agreement of all the owners.

As the owners chose to ink the collective sale agreement by private treaty, approval from the Strata Titles Board was not required.

'An en bloc sale with unanimous consent is not required to adhere to the en bloc law of marketing by tender. They could choose private treaty negotiations,' said Ms Yong Choon Fah, executive director of Credo Real Estate, which brokered the deal.

This price tag works out to about $1,393 per sq ft (psf) on potential gross floor area, after factoring in development charge, she said.

This is comparable to the price of $1,388 psf per plot ratio (ppr) for Serene House, which was sold last month.

A development charge is payable when a developer redevelops sites to a higher intensity or value use.

With the purchase of Robin Star, Sing Holdings was able to average down the cost by amalgamating the site with the adjoining Robin Court and 1 Robin Drive, which the mainboard-listed company purchased for $77.33 million in a tender exercise last September, said Credo.

The amalgamated freehold site will have a combined land area of 64,878 sq ft.

'With a plot ratio of 1.4 and including a 10 per cent balcony area allocation, the property can yield a gross floor area of about 99,913 sq ft,' said Sing Holdings.

The total purchase price of $124.33 million for the sites translates to about $1,297 psf ppr, inclusive of estimated development charges of about $5.28 million.

The site is about 250m to the upcoming Stevens MRT station, part of the Downtown Line, which is expected to be operational in 2015, said Ms Yong.

Sing Holdings chief executive Lee Sze Hao said the acquisitions fit neatly to its strategy of focusing on developing residential projects in prime areas.

'Properties in this location have a special appeal to both locals and foreigners. The three sites, when amalgamated, will be able to offer a good development size and flexibility to achieve a good layout and design,' he said.

Sing Holdings currently has two other development projects. One is BelleRive, a 15-storey apartment tower off Bukit Timah Road which is about 94 per cent sold and is expecting to obtain temporary occupation permit this quarter. The other is The Laurels, a 19-storey residential development along Cairnhill Road which is about 90 per cent sold.