Two Craig Road shophouses up for sale with S$31m guide price

The price tag translates to about S$3,157 per square foot; site's 99-year lease started in July 1989

Tue, Nov 10, 2020

Ng Ren Jyer

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/rea...1m-guide-price

TWO conservation shophouses along Craig Road have been offered for sale with a total guide price of S$31 million, exclusive marketing agent Savills Singapore said on Monday.

The price tag translates to about S$3,157 per square foot based on an estimated built-up area of 9,817 square feet (sq ft).

The pair - located at 38 and 39 Craig Road - sits on a combined leasehold land area of about 3,726 sq ft. The site's 99-year lease started in July 1989.

The plot is zoned for commercial use within the Chinatown-Tanjong Pagar conservation area, Savills said.

The three-storey heritage shophouses with attic also feature a terrace garden and a private courtyard.

The duo is fully tenanted to businesses including a Michelin-starred restaurant on the ground floor and multinational corporations on the upper floors, Savills said.

The properties are situated between the Duxton Hill and Keong Saik Road food and beverage enclaves, and are about a six-minute walk from the upcoming Maxwell MRT station.

Yap Hui Yee, director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, noted that the shophouses' immediate vicinity is "undergoing rejuvenation".

For instance, the former Chinatown Plaza site along Craig Road will be redeveloped into a mixed-use project, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority has granted outline planning permission for service apartments with commercial use.

Nearby, American burger chain Shake Shack also recently opened its second outlet, on Neil Road.

The two shophouses on Craig Road underwent a "major refurbishment" in 2017, and now has marble and oak wood finishing, said Savills.

Foreigners and companies are eligible to buy the pair with no additional buyer's stamp duty or seller's stamp duty imposed.

The sale will be conducted through an expression of interest exercise, which closes on Dec 8 at 3pm.

The Craig Road properties are the latest shophouses put up for sale in a market which has started to heat up since the third quarter.

Just last week, two conservation shophouses in Clarke Quay were put up for sale with a guide price of S$6.2 million per shophouse.

Overall, the value of shophouse deals in Q3 had risen to S$173.2 million from S$117 million in Q2 and S$152 million in Q1, based on Savills Singapore's analysis of caveats data in URA Realis.

The market bounce comes on the back of a 2 ½-month period in April to June when there was a partial lockdown to stem the transmission of Covid-19 and property viewings were not allowed.