D'Grove Villas condo in excellent District 10 for S$420 million collective sale

The third en bloc effort for freehold condo owners

Sep 2, 2024

After two failed sales, freehold high-rise condominium D'Grove Villas is again on the market for S$420 million.

The S$420 million guiding price results in a land rate of S$3,099 per square foot per plot ratio. To optimise site plot ratio, a land improvement fee of roughly S$4.35 million is expected.

Joint marketing agents List Sotheby's International Realty and Strata AMC estimate owners to earn S$6 million to S$16 million, depending on unit size.

Four-bedroom suites of 2,443 or 2,702 sq ft and two penthouses of 5,221 sq ft each are among the 45 huge units in the 20-story structure.

The S$398 million District 10 apartment was initially listed for collective sale in March 2019. Relaunched at S$392 million later in September, the offer closed again without a contract.

D'Grove Villas, built in 1992, has 141,121 sq ft of gross floor space on a 50,400-square-foot lot. Its position on Orange Grove Road near the Shangri-la Hotel is near Orchard Road and Tanglin's posh Ardmore Park development.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2019 zones the property for residential use with a 2.8 gross plot ratio.

The marketing agents anticipate developers and investors to find the plot appealing again.

“The first attempt in 2019 was unsuccessful due to weakening property market sentiment due to July 2018 cooling measures,” said Bern Chen, executive director of Strata AMC, representing the joint marketing agents. The government hiked the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (payable on land purchases) from 15% to 25% (plus additional 5% that is non-remittable), making developers apprehensive of purchasing collective sale properties.

Chen said the newest collective sale “represents a rare opportunity for developers to create a landmark residential project in one of Singapore's most coveted neighbourhoods”.

The market is quiet, and D'Grove Villas' en bloc effort comes after many tenders failed.

Recent collective auction of large Pine Grove condominium plot concluded without bids in May. February saw its sixth sale since 2008 for S$1.95 billion or S$1,434 psf ppr.

In July 2022, Orchard freehold property The Beaumont went on collective sale for S$468 million, or S$2,448 psf ppr. The 99-year leasehold Orchard Bel Air was listed for sale in January 2023 for S$587.5 million, or SS$2,620 psf ppr. Both efforts failed to sell.

The D'Grove Villas condo tender ends at 2 pm on Oct. 23.