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View Full Version : Pine Grove to launch third collective sale at $1.95 bil



New Reporter
28-07-23, 08:25
Pine Grove to launch third collective sale at $1.95 bil

July 27, 2023

On Sunday, July 23, over 80% of the owners at the 660-unit, privatised HUDC (Housing and Urban Development Corp) estate Pine Grove gave their go-ahead for a collective sale. It marks their fourth attempt, but the third time they have achieved 80% consensus.

The collective sale tender is expected to launch next month at a reserve price of $1.95 billion. "If successful, it will be the biggest collective sale deal since Farrer Court," says Benjamin Poh, ERA senior division director and the appointed marketing agent for Pine Grove's collective sale.

The former Farrer Court, a privatised HUDC estate with 618 units, was sold en bloc to a CapitaLand-led consortium for $1.3388 billion in June 2007. The record absolute price for the collective sale site remains unbroken after 16 years.

Farrer Court has since been redeveloped into the 1,715-unit d'Leedon designed by the late Zaha Hadid. The 99-year leasehold prime District 10 condo was launched in 2010 and completed in 2014.

Given the size of the development, units at d'Leedon are actively traded with transactions almost every month. Based on caveats lodged in July, four units have changed hands. They range from a 635 sq ft, one-bedder sold for $1.35 million ($2,126 psf) to a 2,443 sq ft, four-bedder that fetched $4.55 million ($1,862 psf).

Pine Grove is larger than the former Farrer Court by number of units at 660 (compared to Farrer Court's 618 units) and land size at 893,219 sq ft (versus Farrer Court's 838,488 sq ft).

Located in District 21, Pine Grove is near schools such as Henry Park Primary School, Singapore Polytechnic and Yale-NUS College. It's also near the amenities at Holland Village and one-north.

The Pine Grove site can be redeveloped into a new 24-storey residential project with 2,050 units, assuming an average size of 915 sq ft for the new units, estimates Poh. It has a 99-year lease from 1984, which means it has a remaining lease of 60 years.

A handful of units at Pine Grove have changed hands from May to July. They range from $1.455 million ($1,099 psf) for a 1,324 sq ft two-bedroom to $2 million ($1,140 psf) for a 1,755 sq ft three-bedroom.

Along Pine Grove are some 99-year leasehold condos built in the mid-1990s, for example, the 170-unit Astor Green completed in 1995 and the 254-unit Cavendish Park in 1996.

There were two transactions at Astor Green in July: a 980 sq ft two-bedroom unit that changed hands for $1.54 million ($1,572 psf) and a 1,378 sq ft three-bedroom unit that sold for $1.88 million ($1,365 psf).

At Cavendish Park, the last two caveats lodged were in May this year, with the sale of a 1,270 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that fetched $1.8 million ($1,417 psf); and a 1,227 sq ft three-bedroom unit that changed hands for $1.8 million ($1,467 psf).

Setting a benchmark for the District 21 neighbourhood is the new 520-unit private condo Pinetree Hill by a joint venture between UOL Group and Singapore Land Group (SingLand). Launched on July 14, about 146 units at the 99-year leasehold condo have been sold at an average price of $2,383 psf.

Pinetree Hill is developed on a government land sale (GLS) site at Pine Grove Parcel A, which UOL and SingLand won in an 80:20 joint venture with a bid of $671.5 million ($1,318 psf per plot ratio) in June last year.

Next door to Pinetree Hill is Pine Grove Parcel B, which is scheduled for launch in August under the GLS programme. The site can yield 565 new residential units.

ERA's Poh remains confident of the redevelopment potential of these privatised HUDC estates as they tend to sit on sprawling sites. He says there are only seven such HUDC estates today, including Pine Grove. The remaining estates are Braddell View, Ivory Heights, Lagoon View, Laguna Park, Lakeview Estate and Neptune Court.

The others have been successfully sold en bloc and redeveloped. An example is the 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines by Sim Lian Group, which has already obtained its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP). The project is a redevelopment of the former 560-unit Tampines Court, a privatised HUDC estate, which Sim Lian purchased en bloc for $970 million in August 2017.

Treasure at Tampines was launched in March 2019, with the first phase of units sold at an average price of $1,280 psf. All 2,203 units in the project were snapped up within three years, with the project sold out by February 2022.

In July, five units at Treasure at Tampines changed hands in the resale market. Prices ranged from $770,000 ($1,664 psf) for a 463 sq ft, one-bedder to $1.7 million ($1,645 psf) for a 1,033 sq ft, three-bedroom unit, based on caveats lodged.

The former 488-unit Normanton Park, another privatised HUDC estate, was acquired en bloc by Chinese developer Kingsford Huray Development for $830.1 million in October 2017.

Kingsford retained the Normanton Park name and launched its new development with 1,862 residential units and eight strata commercial units in January 2021.

Over 550 units at Normanton Park were sold on the first weekend alone (Jan 15-16, 2021) at an average price of $1,759 psf. The project was fully sold 18 months later, in July 2022. The project has attained Building & Construction Authority’s Quality Mark for every unit and TOP.

A recent sub-sale in May saw a 775 sq ft, two-bedroom unit at Normanton Park change hands for $1.55 million ($2,000 psf).

Since Covid, homebuyers have preferred large-scale and "mega projects" (those above 1,000 units) due to the amenities provided and the attractive maintenance fees compared to mid-sized developments, ERA's Poh notes.

"We consider this an opportune time for the collective sale of Pine Grove," Poh adds.

More at: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/pine-grove-launch-third-collective-sale-195-bil