In just 5 months, a couple flips a Kitchener Road property for a $3.7 million profit

AUGUST 16, 2022



What's it like to receive a multimillion dollar windfall in a matter of months without doing well in the lottery?

Just speak with the owners of the freehold conservation shophouse unit that recently sold for $8 million on Kitchener Road.

What's even more astounding is that the previous owners sold the house for a whopping 86 percent more than they paid for it when they bought it, having only owned it for five months.

A firm named Pack Wan purchased the home at 147 Kitchener Road, off Jalan Besar. Aaron Wan, a senior group district director at the real estate company Propnex, and his wife are identified as the company's shareholders. The company was established in August of last year.

The couple had paid $4.3 million for the shophouse with the aim of keeping it as a long-term investment. San Laksa, a steamboat restaurant, currently occupies the unit's bottom level; the second floor is rented as office space.

A spiral staircase from the first level leads to an open-roof terrace in the 1,440 square foot shophouse, which is thought to have been constructed in the 1920s and is a part of the Desker Road conservation area.

It is close to a number of well-known restaurants, including Pu Tien and Hillman Restaurant, and is situated along a series of shophouses facing City Square Residences and City Square Mall.

The current owners of the shophouse are from the 1916-founded Hakka association Eng Teng Association. The organization's old headquarters were three double-story conservation shophouses on Neil Road, which they owned.

According to reports, it sold the three units for a combined $33 million.

Wan declined to offer any comments on the sale.

Shophouses are renowned as architectural marvels in Singapore and are frequently found in areas with a rich history.

A two-story conservation shophouse in Tanjong Pagar was put up for sale in July 2022 with a $12 million guide price, according to 99.co. The building is located in a "commercial" zone and has been given permission for F&B operations on the ground floor and office use on the upper floor.

Only Singaporeans and permanent residents (PR) are permitted to own conserved shophouses that include "residential" components, and even then, they must have had PR status for at least five years and have clearance for the acquisition, according to mortgage consultant Redbrick.