http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...ollective-sale

Published July 17, 2012

Three freehold residential sites up for collective sale

By Jasmine Ng


[SINGAPORE] A slew of collective sales has hit the market in the form of one freehold residential site in Upper Serangoon, Chancery Garden and Kismis Lodge.

The first of the two adjoining sites at Upper Serangoon is a 20,228-sq-ft site at 1 Surin Avenue. It is currently occupied by a two-storey detached house which is vacant.

The second adjacent 22,618-sq-ft site at 790 Upper Serangoon Road was formerly the Singapore Crocodile Farm, which has ceased operations.

They are on the market with an indicative pricing of $40 million. Inclusive of a development charge of $6.1 million, the price works out to some $934 per square foot (psf), according to marketing agent Colliers International.

"With a total land area of 42,846 sq ft, the site can be re-developed to accommodate some 26 units of cluster terrace houses, with areas ranging from 3,500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft each," said Tang Wei Leng, executive director of investment services at Colliers.

She added that cluster housing attracts investors due to the higher rental yield it can command, as compared to similar-sized landed properties. Typically, new cluster developments could enjoy a rental yield of 4 to 5 per cent, while conventional landed housing may have about 3 per cent.

"In fact, the popularity of such property type is demonstrated by the successful sale of the nearby Surin Villas @ Kovan, Thomson Grand at Upper Thomson Road and The Seawind at Telok Kurau, among others," Ms Tang said. The tender closes on Aug 15.

Another development, Chancery Garden, a prime freehold mixed landed site in District 11, is put up for collective sale by tender by OrangeTee Investments.

Sitting on a site area of about 29,468 sq ft and comprising 10 units of apartments and townhouses housed in a three-storey block, it has an expected minimum price of $45 million, or $1,527 psf.

The site is zoned for two-storey mixed landed housing. OrangeTee said the developer can choose to build a total of 18 units of strata terraces, six strata semi-detached and 10 strata terraces, or any other configurations subject to approval.

"We see continued strong interests for strata landed development sites in prime districts 10 and 11," said Alex Oh, assistant director of OrangeTee.

"With the added advantage of being located at one of the highest points in Chancery Hill, with a prestigious Chancery address and regular land shape, we believe that competition will be intense for this site," he added.

The tender for Chancery Garden closes at 3pm on Aug 23.

The last site up for collective sale is Kismis Lodge. This is the first time the site is being put up for sale.

Located off Toh Tuck Road, the plot currently comprises 64 units of walk-up apartments with a land area of 70,283 square feet.

The owners are asking for between $90 million and $95 million, which translates to about $1,281 to $1,352 psf.

"We do not expect the developer to need to pay development charges for this site. We are, however, checking with the authorities," said marketing agent Credo Real Estate's executive director, Yong Choon Fah.

She added that if successful, each owner of the Kismis Lodge apartment would get about $1.4 million to $1.48 million.

The site is zoned for three-storey mixed landed housing, which allows the developer to build a combination of conventional terrace houses, semi-detached houses and detached houses; or cluster landed housing with strata terrace houses, strata semi-detached houses and strata bungalows with communal facilities.

"Responses to such large mixed landed housing sites have generally been good as they are not easily available in the market. Kismis Lodge has an added advantage as it is a squarish island site with four wide frontages.

"This site configuration gives great flexibility in terms of design and layout. Hence, we expect this tender to be well-received as well," said Ms Yong.

The tender for Kismis Lodge closes at 2.30pm on Aug 15.