Office market tested with Merchant Square sale

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...001890/1/.html

Merchant Square for sale by Expression of Interest

Posted: 31 August 2009 1723 hrs


SINGAPORE : Merchant Square, an office building located at the fringe of the Central Business District (CBD), is up for sale by Expression of Interest.

The building, completed in 1996, comprises a four-storey office tower and two blocks of shophouses.

It is situated close to the junction of Merchant Road and Clemenceau Avenue, with a tenure of 99 years leasehold from 1993.

CB Richard Ellis, which is the sole marketing agent for the Expression of Interest exercise, said the property has a total net lettable area of about 50,262 square feet.

It sits on a land area of 27,668 square feet and has two levels of basement carpark comprising 76 lots.

The Expression of Interest exercise closes at 3pm on October 6.

- CNA/al

http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_423869.html

Sep 1, 2009 Tuesday

Office market tested with Merchant Square sale

By Jessica Cheam


MERCHANT Square, a four-storey office building off Merchant Road, is up for sale again - this time at a deep discount to its last asking price.

The leasehold property was on the market in February last year at the guide price of $73 million but the offers then 'did not meet the owner's expectations', said CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), who is marketing the property.

This time, the seller - Jackson International - is testing the market with a significantly revised guide price of $48 million, said the firm.

CBRE's director of investment properties, Mr Charles Hoon, said yesterday the difference in the guide price was mainly due to the high valuations and asking prices at the peak of the previous property boom in February last year.

With the new guide price and a total net lettable area of 50,262 sq ft, the sale price works out to about $955 psf.

The office building, which comprises a four-storey office tower and two blocks of shophouses, sits on a land area of about 27,668 sq ft and has two levels of basement carpark comprising 76 lots. The property was completed in 1996.

Chesterton Suntec International's research and consultancy director Colin Tan said the disparity between the two asking prices was 'slightly surprising'.

'Although if you look at office rentals, they have come down by up to half from peak prices,' he noted.

Rentals in the office market are still declining, although sale prices are firming up due to the recent exuberance in the property market, said Mr Tan.

Still, the market will take some time to recover owing to ample supply, he added.

Industry observers will be keenly watching how the market responds to Merchant Square's sale.

CBRE's Mr Hoon said yesterday that the property is 'a good acquisition opportunity and remain sought after among end-users'.

The expression of interest exercise closes at 3pm on Oct 6, said CBRE.