Ravi Chandran
Edmund Tie & Co announced on 18 Jan that it is pleased to announce the launch of a District 9 freehold residential block for sale by tender. Edmund Tie is the sole marketing agent for the three freehold residential buildings 2, 4 and 6 Mount Emily Road. 100% of the owners have given consent to the sale of the District 9 freehold residential block.
The freehold District 9 residential block, located at the exclusive Mount Emily Road, comprise 3 adjoining, 3-storey buildings with basement and attic, sitting on a total site area of 515.5 sq m (approximately 5,549 sq ft) with an existing gross floor area of 1,499.3 sq m (approximately 16,138 sq ft).
Under Master Plan 2019, the District 9 freehold residential block is zoned for residential use at plot ratio 2.1 within the Mount Sophia secondary settlement conservation area. Subject to authorities’ approval, the property may be strata subdivided and a new rear extension of up to 36 m Singapore Height Datum (SHD) may be erected.
Nestled in a tranquil enclave near Mount Emily Park, the District 9 freehold residential block enjoys an exciting location at the fringe of the city centre, within close proximity to the CBD and Orchard Road. The neighbourhood is a vibrant mix of arts, heritage and cultural districts, and the property is well-served by a wide array of amenities. The Little India MRT interchange serving the Downtown and North East MRT lines is a mere 200 m away, providing easy accessibility to all parts of Singapore.
Executive director of investment advisory, Ms Swee Shou Fern, commented: “Due to the high existing gross floor area, no development charge is payable. The guide price of $1,115 per square foot on gross floor area compares favourably to the recently transacted collective sale of Fairhaven and Sophia View at a combined land price of $1,158 ppr and collective sale of Casa Sophia at $1,120 ppr.
With an affordable bite-size quantum, the District 9 freehold residential block at 2, 4 and 6 Mount Emily Road presents an exceptional opportunity for one to transform this well-located property into a boutique residential development for future sale of strata subdivided units. The 100% owners’ consent also offers certainty in deal completion timeline.”
The guide price for the District 9 freehold residential block is $18m, reflecting approximately $1,115 per square foot on existing gross floor area.
The tender exercise will open on Tuesday, 19 January 2021 and close on Thursday, 25 February 2021 at 3pm.
Commenting on the sale by tender of the District 9 freehold residential block, Mr Paul Ho, chief mortgage officer at iCompareLoan, said: “the sale of the 3 block of apartments come at a time when URA statistics showed that private residential property prices grew at an increasing rate over two quarters.”
“The market sentiments are quite strong at this moment and the property is also in a very attractive location. All these factors will add to the factors as to why this property will fetch prices close to the guide price,” he added.
Final statistics from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (22 Jan) showed that private residential property prices grew at an increasing rate, by 2.1% quarter-on-quarter (QOQ) in Q4 2020, after rising 0.8% in Q3. This final figure is unchanged from the flash estimates on 4 January.
This brings private home prices to be up 2.2% for the full year 2020, compared to a growth of 2.7% in 2019. Private home prices are now 4.9% above the most recent peak in Q3 2018 and 1.6% above its all-time peak in Q3 2013.
In addition, for the whole of 2020, developers sold 9,982 private residential units, 0.7% higher than the 9,912 units in the previous year.
These positive data points have defied the pandemic-induced recession, spurring recent ministerial remarks that the government is keeping a close watch on the market and talks of possible new cooling measures.
According to URA’s data, prices in the Core Central Region (CCR) which comprises of Districts 1, 2, 9, 10 and 11, rose 3.2% in Q4 from the previous quarter, after falling 3.8% QOQ in Q3 2020. This brings the volatile CCR home prices to a mild 0.4% decline for the full year 2020. CCR home price index is now 3.0% below its recent peak in Q3 2018 and 5.4% below its all-time peak in Q1 2013.
Mr Ho noted that properties in District 9, has risen less compared to real estate in Rest of Central Region (RCR) for many years now, and that the price differential is narrowing.
“Either RCR is overpriced or CCR is underpriced. For investors who are looking at superlatives, definitely the best of the best will do. Savvy investors (those who already have more than 1 property) will stay away from the market as the prices are crazy and the fundamentals are weak and there is huge supply in the pipeline. Current investors, such as those that bought The M, a 522-unit 99-year leasehold project in the CBD comprise of a lot of foreigners. I doubt how they will recover their investment given the low rental yields, rising interest costs.
“I got a sense that it is more a portfolio diversification play given that they feel bullish about the Singapore Property market – given that the malaise of over supply has been digested for many years. So, this is more about the confidence and the sentiments. The fundamentals of the Singapore property market appears to be weak.”
Mr Ho believes that value buys in the property market right now are are landed inter-terrace house. He notes that the per square feet price on the built-up area in such properties are usually less than $1000. He also advises those that are looking for a property in District 9 to get help from property agents.
If you are home-hunting in District 9, you should seek the help of a good panel of property agents and the mortgage consultants as they can help you with affordability assessment and a promotional home loan. The services of professionals like mortgage loan experts are free. Their analysis will give best home loan seekers better ease of mind on interest rate volatility and repayments.
