Building at Thomson Road relaunched for sale at S$18.5m after earlier sale falls through

Jul 27, 2022



A FREEHOLD 4-storey building at 41 & 43 Thomson Road has been put up for sale again by private treaty with a slightly higher asking price of S$18.5 million after an earlier deal did not go through.

The property was launched for sale previously via private treaty in November last year, at a then-asking price of S$18 million. It was sold to a developer for S$17.8 million, who went on to exercise the option to purchase. However, according to property consultancy Delasa, the buyer was unable to complete the purchase as they faced issues transferring funds from abroad. Delasa is acting as consultant to the vendors.

The development, which houses 7 apartments, was built in the mid 1980s and belongs to a family-owned company.

Zoned “residential” in the 2019 Master Plan, it has a land area of 7,300 square feet (sq ft) and a current gross floor area (GFA) of 8,300 sq ft. The allowable plot ratio for the site is 2.8, which translates to a potential GFA of 20,400 sq ft, subject to the necessary approvals. It is situated about 300 metres from United Square Shopping Mall and is within walking distance to Novena MRT station.

Karamjit Singh, chief executive of Delasa, said: “In the process, the purchaser had obtained an Advice from the Urban Redevelopment Authority in response to a Provisional Permission application, supporting the redevelopment of the plot into a serviced apartment development.“ Singh reckons the site could thus appeal to both private and local investors, given that home rents and occupancies of apartments have strengthened in the last 2 years.

Singh added: “Since of the beginning of last year, while capital values of homes in the prime areas or Core Central Region (CCR) went up by 3 per cent, rentals have overshot by almost 11 per cent.”

By Delasa’s calculations, the site could also be redeveloped into an apartment development comprising up to 22 units with an average size of 85 square metres (sq m), subject to obtaining the greenlight from the relevant authorities.

“At a price tag of S$18.5 million, this translates to a land rate of S$917 psf per plot ratio, including development charges. A developer may expect to break-even at around S$1,800, subject to approvals from the authorities,” Singh estimates.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/rea...-falls-through