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Singapore, 27 April 2022 – Verdun House, an en bloc site located at the corner of Verdun Road and Sam Leong Road in Farrer Park, was sold for $55.1 million in a tender exercise that closed on 26 April 2022. Mr James Koh, CEO of the Fragrance Group, emerged as the highest bidder.
Owners of 15 out of the 16 strata-titled units have consented to the sale, representing a mandate of 93% of the development. The sale is subject to Strata Titles Board approval.
Located some 370 metres to Farrer Park MRT station, the 7,300 sqft site is zoned ‘Commercial’ in the 2019 Master Plan with a plot ratio of 4.2. It currently comprises four shops and eateries on the ground level and 12 apartments at its upper levels. The development was built in the 1980s.
The sale price of $55.1 million reflects $1,793 psf on the potential commercial gross floor area of 30,727 sf. No development charge is payable upon its redevelopment up to its potential plot ratio of 4.2 Commercial use.
At the sale price, each apartment owner stands to receive between $2.1 to $2.8 million, while the owners of the shops would receive between $5.7 to $7.5 million.
“The marketing exercise for Verdun House required a differentiated approach from most typical en bloc sales which tend to be sold to property developers for their immediate redevelopment potentials. While Verdun House may be redeveloped, it offered better prospects as a value-add proposition, which would see the investor sprucing up the building before refreshing the tenancies and income. True enough, the interest it garnered were mainly from long-term local property investors who know this space well”, said Mr Karamjit Singh, CEO of Delasa, the owners’ appointed property consultants and investment sales specialists. “The appetite for such commercial-zoned assets is strong due to lower stamp duties compared to residential, and its ability to onward-sell to foreigners”.
Verdun House’s first unsuccessful collective sale attempt was in 2018 with a reserve price of $60 million.
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