TODAY Online : $100.8m deal is year's first

$100.8m deal is year's first
But is it necessarily good news for other en bloc attempts here?
by Loh Chee Kong 05:55 AM Dec 02, 2009

SINGAPORE - It has taken more than 20 months, but the collective sale of Dragon Mansion in Spottiswoode Park has gone through at the second attempt - making it the first en bloc sale this year as 2009 draws to an end.

The $100.8 million deal, which is subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board, was sealed yesterday after consent was obtained from more than 80 per cent of the residents, who were earlier looking to sell the property for $120 million.

The buyer was RL Developments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roxy-Pacific Holdings.

Mr Mark Tozer, 72, who chairs the sale committee, told MediaCorp the process was tedious, particularly given the uncertain economic conditions. Residents have been trying for an en bloc sale since 2007, and the attempt was put on hold when the recession hit, he said.

"For six months, we put off the bid ... it was difficult, but there was very little animosity. Everyone looked at the current market and they are satisfied with what they will be getting," said Mr Tozer.

Built in the 1970s, Dragon Mansion comprises 72 units of three-bedroom apartments. Owners are mainly older folk and each unit, measuring 1,399 sq ft, would get $1.4 million in sale proceeds.

Resident Mr Ho remarked how he would get, at most, about $800,000 should he sell the unit on his own. Said the 70-year-old: "During the property boom about a decade ago, someone offered me $820,000, but I refused to sell. Until today, I regretted my decision."

The site was offered for collective sale in July for $120 million but no buyer had matched the asking price when the tender closed a month later.

In October, boutique developer Roxy-Pacific announced it had entered into a conditional agreement with the condominium for $100.8 million or $863 per square foot per plot ratio - sending the sale committee scurrying for a fresh round of approval from the residents.



Only if the price is right

CKS Property Consultants, which brokered the deal, said the price "sets a new benchmark for the Spottiswoode Park area" and it would soon launch another site, Mayfair Gardens, after more than 80 per cent of the residents consented to an en bloc sale.

But while en bloc sale aspirants elsewhere "would be encouraged" by the deal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak doubted it would actually create momentum for collective sales - particularly when the Government is set to reinstate its Confirmed List for its land sales programme in the first half of next year.

"Developers can still be selective, especially when they will have a wide variety of choices," said Mr Mak.

ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim pointed out the selling price was a "clear reflection that the developers are prudent and cautious".

At Laguna Park last month, residents finally called off the collective sale after its $967-million price tag - revised down from an initial $1.2 billion - saw no takers.

On Thursday, Pine Grove residents will be trying - for the fourth time since 2005 - to get enough signatures to sell the property for $1.33 billion, just shy of the record $1.34 billion fetched by Farrer Court in June 2007.

For Dragon Mansion residents, there will be few tears shed for their long-time abode. The windfall, said Mr Tozer, would be sufficient for "a nice place plus pension". "The place is getting old and it's time to move on," he added.