By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Green Lodge (pictured) at Toh Tuck Road has been sold for S$191.888 million, becoming the biggest en bloc sale so far this year, according to The Business Times.
Located off Jalan Jurong Kechil in Upper Bukit Timah, the property has a land area of 151,075 sq ft and could be developed into a five-storey condominium under the 2008 Master Plan. With a plot ratio of 1.4, the purchase price translates to S$907 psf ppr.
The unnamed buyer acquired the property for private investment, said Shaun Poh, Senior Director for Investment Advisory Services at DTZ, which brokered the deal.
The approved density of equivalent plot ratio 1.4896 (based on a slighter larger original land area) translates to a lower unit land price of S$833 psf ppr, which provides around 8.9 percent balcony space with no development charge (DC) payable.
But with the maximum 10 percent allowance for balcony space, a DC of S$827,000 would be payable, which means the unit land price increases to S$828 psf ppr. Taking this into account, the breakeven price for a new condo development would be around S$1,100 psf.
Currently, the property features 80 residential units between 1,679 and 2,056 sq ft.
Following the sale, owners will pocket around S$2.3 million to S$2.6 million each, 50 to 60 percent above the estimated price if the units were sold individually.
Poh stated that the Green Lodge deal is the "biggest freehold residential collective sale so far this year", but is still subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board.
Meanwhile, the en bloc sales market is healthy with a number of transactions taking place recently with "developers expressing interest – even in the bigger sites", he added. Related Stories: Home buyers put off by Ghost Month
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