New Reporter
15-06-23, 14:43
China, Singapore private wealth continues to support shophouse demand
Recent deals include 11 New Bridge Road (S$23.8m), and 37 Boat Quay (S$30m); OCBC sells Serangoon Garden shophouse pair for S$17.5m
Jun 14, 2023
THE going may be slow for some segments of the commercial property market that typically rely on institutional investors, in the face of high interest rates.
However, the shophouse market continues to draw buyers in the private wealth segment, be they local or overseas.
A four-storey corner conservation shophouse at 11 New Bridge Road – where the popular Song Fa Bak Kut Teh outlet occupies the entire ground floor – is being sold for S$23.8 million.
The buyer, a China national, is understood to be linked to Lin Jixun. A person of the same name is the founder and chief executive officer of US-based ACON Laboratories, the maker of the Flowflex Covid-19 antigen home test kits.
The shophouse is opposite The Central above Clarke Quay MRT station. Being a corner property with dual frontage along New Bridge Road and Upper Circular Road is another plus point. The 1,452 sq ft site on which the shophouse stands had its lease topped up to a fresh 99-year term in August 2016.
The shophouse has a built-up area of 5,666 sq ft. The third and fourth levels of the building were renovated last year. The property is being sold by a local property investment management company.
Boat Quay property fetches record per square foot price
Along the Singapore River, a seasoned shophouse investor is buying a three-storey shophouse at 37 Boat Quay for S$30 million. It is on a 1,426 sq ft site with 999-year leasehold tenure. The floor area for the shophouse cited by market watchers ranges from 3,700 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft, with a few giving a higher estimate of 4,000 sq ft.
A point to note about comparing shophouse prices is that information on floor area is not included in the property title for most shophouses; the exception is strata-titled shophouses for which the strata area is included. “Sometimes, people add in areas like the five-foot way, which professional valuers would not include in the floor area,” said an institutional shophouse investor.
Based on a floor area of 3,700 sq ft, the price for 37 Boat Quay works out to around S$8,000 psf, a record for a conservation shophouse in Districts 1 and 2 (which cover the Central Business District and Chinatown locales). This topples the high of S$7,000 psf set for 94 Amoy Street just a few months ago, according to agents.
The key attractions of 37 Boat Quay include a balcony that overlooks the river and the property being a corner unit with dual frontage. Harvest Seafood Restaurant is the ground-floor tenant.
The buyer of 37 Boat Quay already owns some shophouses in the vicinity.
Peck Seah Street shophouse selling for S$22.76m
Near Tanjong Pagar MRT station, 76 Peck Seah Street is changing hands for S$22.76 million. The property is on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure from February 1994, leaving a balance of nearly 70 years. On the ground floor of the shophouse is a vegetarian restaurant called Whole Earth.
The shophouse is being bought by a person with a Macau address and Portuguese nationality and who is not new to the Singapore shophouse market.
In the suburbs, OCBC has sold a pair of two-storey, non-conservation corner shophouses at 86 and 88 Serangoon Garden Way for S$17.49 million. The duo, which are on 3,101 sq ft of 999-year leasehold land, have a total floor area of about 4,700 sq ft (including 231 sq ft of open yard), according to information released by Savills Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent for the property, in April. The shophouses were sold on vacant-possession basis.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s latest Master Plan, the properties are zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 1.4.
The properties were awarded via a tender exercise to a Singapore-incorporated company that is ultimately owned by Ng Cheow Leng’s New Century International.
Savills confirmed that it ran the tender exercise and the property has been sold but declined to comment further.
There are fewer sellers in the shophouse market these days. “Most shophouse owners are only motivated to sell at the right price and there are currently fewer motivated sellers in the market,” said Galven Tan, deputy managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills.
Furthermore, some of those who have bought shophouses in the past few years are looking to hold on to their investments for the mid to long term. “Consequently, there are fewer shophouse listings/stocks available in the market,” Tan noted.
“That said, transactions are still taking place. The buyer profiles typically require little or no financing and thus are relatively unaffected by the current high interest rate environment.
“The buyers of shophouses include Singaporean and foreign private wealth/high-net-worth individuals, predominantly from North Asia,” he added.
Shophouse buyers are a mixed bunch, ranging from those who aim to flip the property with holding period of under a year, to investors looking to hold for four to five years, and those who want to pass a heritage asset to the next generation.
Observers have noted a slowdown in viewings in the past few weeks, perhaps due to the school vacation. “Even foreign buyers seem to be taking a pause after recent high-priced deals,” said a shophouse owner.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/china-singapore-private-wealth-continues-support-shophouse-demand
Recent deals include 11 New Bridge Road (S$23.8m), and 37 Boat Quay (S$30m); OCBC sells Serangoon Garden shophouse pair for S$17.5m
Jun 14, 2023
THE going may be slow for some segments of the commercial property market that typically rely on institutional investors, in the face of high interest rates.
However, the shophouse market continues to draw buyers in the private wealth segment, be they local or overseas.
A four-storey corner conservation shophouse at 11 New Bridge Road – where the popular Song Fa Bak Kut Teh outlet occupies the entire ground floor – is being sold for S$23.8 million.
The buyer, a China national, is understood to be linked to Lin Jixun. A person of the same name is the founder and chief executive officer of US-based ACON Laboratories, the maker of the Flowflex Covid-19 antigen home test kits.
The shophouse is opposite The Central above Clarke Quay MRT station. Being a corner property with dual frontage along New Bridge Road and Upper Circular Road is another plus point. The 1,452 sq ft site on which the shophouse stands had its lease topped up to a fresh 99-year term in August 2016.
The shophouse has a built-up area of 5,666 sq ft. The third and fourth levels of the building were renovated last year. The property is being sold by a local property investment management company.
Boat Quay property fetches record per square foot price
Along the Singapore River, a seasoned shophouse investor is buying a three-storey shophouse at 37 Boat Quay for S$30 million. It is on a 1,426 sq ft site with 999-year leasehold tenure. The floor area for the shophouse cited by market watchers ranges from 3,700 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft, with a few giving a higher estimate of 4,000 sq ft.
A point to note about comparing shophouse prices is that information on floor area is not included in the property title for most shophouses; the exception is strata-titled shophouses for which the strata area is included. “Sometimes, people add in areas like the five-foot way, which professional valuers would not include in the floor area,” said an institutional shophouse investor.
Based on a floor area of 3,700 sq ft, the price for 37 Boat Quay works out to around S$8,000 psf, a record for a conservation shophouse in Districts 1 and 2 (which cover the Central Business District and Chinatown locales). This topples the high of S$7,000 psf set for 94 Amoy Street just a few months ago, according to agents.
The key attractions of 37 Boat Quay include a balcony that overlooks the river and the property being a corner unit with dual frontage. Harvest Seafood Restaurant is the ground-floor tenant.
The buyer of 37 Boat Quay already owns some shophouses in the vicinity.
Peck Seah Street shophouse selling for S$22.76m
Near Tanjong Pagar MRT station, 76 Peck Seah Street is changing hands for S$22.76 million. The property is on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure from February 1994, leaving a balance of nearly 70 years. On the ground floor of the shophouse is a vegetarian restaurant called Whole Earth.
The shophouse is being bought by a person with a Macau address and Portuguese nationality and who is not new to the Singapore shophouse market.
In the suburbs, OCBC has sold a pair of two-storey, non-conservation corner shophouses at 86 and 88 Serangoon Garden Way for S$17.49 million. The duo, which are on 3,101 sq ft of 999-year leasehold land, have a total floor area of about 4,700 sq ft (including 231 sq ft of open yard), according to information released by Savills Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent for the property, in April. The shophouses were sold on vacant-possession basis.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s latest Master Plan, the properties are zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 1.4.
The properties were awarded via a tender exercise to a Singapore-incorporated company that is ultimately owned by Ng Cheow Leng’s New Century International.
Savills confirmed that it ran the tender exercise and the property has been sold but declined to comment further.
There are fewer sellers in the shophouse market these days. “Most shophouse owners are only motivated to sell at the right price and there are currently fewer motivated sellers in the market,” said Galven Tan, deputy managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills.
Furthermore, some of those who have bought shophouses in the past few years are looking to hold on to their investments for the mid to long term. “Consequently, there are fewer shophouse listings/stocks available in the market,” Tan noted.
“That said, transactions are still taking place. The buyer profiles typically require little or no financing and thus are relatively unaffected by the current high interest rate environment.
“The buyers of shophouses include Singaporean and foreign private wealth/high-net-worth individuals, predominantly from North Asia,” he added.
Shophouse buyers are a mixed bunch, ranging from those who aim to flip the property with holding period of under a year, to investors looking to hold for four to five years, and those who want to pass a heritage asset to the next generation.
Observers have noted a slowdown in viewings in the past few weeks, perhaps due to the school vacation. “Even foreign buyers seem to be taking a pause after recent high-priced deals,” said a shophouse owner.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/china-singapore-private-wealth-continues-support-shophouse-demand