Home owners at Serangoon Ville have struck while the iron is hot and put their estate up for collective sale.
Owners of the privatised Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) development in Serangoon North Avenue 1 expect the property will sell for $400 million to $430 million amid a resurgent market. Marketing agent ERA Realty Network said the winning bidder will have to fork out an additional $200 million to $220 million in estimated charges for intensifying the use of land and to top up the lease to a fresh 99 years.
The asking price plus the extra charges work out to a land rate of $720 per sq ft per plot ratio.
"I think the response to the tender will be good, looking at deals like Rio Casa and Eunosville recently. The owners want to hit the market while it is hot," said ERA division director Stanley Koo.
Serangoon Ville comprises 244 units of apartments and maisonettes across seven blocks. Each owner is expected to receive about $1.6 million to $1.7 million from the sale, depending on unit sizes, which range from 1,625 sq ft to 1,733 sq ft. Serangoon Ville, which sits on a 296,913 sq ft plot, was privatised in 2014 and has 69 years of its lease left.
Mr Koo said the site can be redeveloped to offer 750 to 900 apartments with an average size of 750 sq ft.
This tender comes amid brisk collective sale activity. There have been four sales this year - One Tree Hill Gardens, Goh & Goh Building and the former HUDC estates Rio Casa and Eunosville. Rio Casa in Hougang sold last month for $575 million. Eunosville in Sims Avenue went for $765 million in a deal finalised this month. Both were done above the owners' asking prices.
"Now the home owners (at Serangoon Ville) are hoping the same goes for their tender too," Mr Koo said. The Serangoon Ville tender closes on July 25.
Analysts expect collective sale activity to pick up this year amid developers' hunger for sites, healthy new home sales and positive sentiment in the private residential market.
Two other former HUDC estates in Tampines and Hougang could also be put up for collective sale. The Straits Times understands that owners at the 560-unit Tampines Court are asking for at least $960 million, with the intention to launch the tender early next month. Owners at the 336-unit Florence Regency in Hougang plan to commence signing of the collective sale agreement next month, marketing agent JLL said.
Wong Siew Ying
