Ravi Chandran
Knight Frank Singapore announced on Oct 15 that it is pleased to offer a freehold two-storey terrace house with attic at 141 Neil Road for sale via Expression of Interest (EOI) for S$4.8 million.
Located within the Residential Historic District of the Blair Plain Conservation Area, the freehold two-storey terrace house, a family home, sits in an exclusive locale filled with diverse facades, rich ornamentation and unique architectural styles.
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The freehold two-storey terrace house, a District 2 property, belongs to a compact cluster of two-and three-storey shophouses and residential terrace houses, designed across the Early, Transitional, Late Shophouse and Art Deco Styles. The strictest form of building conservation is practiced in this district.
Situated to the west of the Downtown Core, the freehold two-storey terrace house is accessible via Outram Park MRT station on the East-West Line, as well as the upcoming Cantonment MRT station on the Circle Line.
The shophouse has a land area of approximately 3,193 sq ft and gross floor area of approximately 4,813 sq ft, and is sold with vacant possession.
Ms Mary Sai, Executive Director of Investment and Capital Markets, Knight Frank Singapore, comments, “There has been a dearth of such residential heritage houses in the CBD fringe area for sale, as these are likened collector’s gems which are very much sought after.
“Fully refurbished heritage terrace houses in the Cairnhill vicinity are currently calling for more than S$10 million per building, depending on the land and floor areas. At nearby Blair Road, refurbished heritage houses with land sizes of approximately 1,500 sq ft are asking for S$5.5 million to S$6 million.
“There are buyers who like to acquire conservation houses in their original condition as they can be renovated into aesthetically pleasing dream homes, so long as they fall within URA’s conservation guidelines. Additionally, the Neil Road home is located only about 500 metres away from the future Greater Southern Waterfront.”
The residential shophouse at Neil Road is offered by the same trust that put up a portfolio of three commercial shophouses for sale last week – at 151 Telok Ayer Street, 14 Stanley Street and 8 Smith Street. The District 1 conservation shophouses are offered for sale as a portfolio for S$31 million, or can be purchased individually for S$12 million (Telok Ayer Street and Stanley Street shophouses) and S$7 million (Smith Street shophouse) respectively.
The EOI for the freehold two-storey terrace house at Neil Road will close on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, at 3pm.
A research by List Sotheby’s International Realty (List SIR) said that landed homes are an excellent asset for wealth preservation. The report pointed out that landed homes offer a copious amount of living space that is suitable for multi-generation families, and as such, provide a relatively higher quality of life.
“On top of that, landed homes with freehold/999-year leasehold tenure rarely depreciates in value when held for the long term and thus serves as an excellent asset for wealth preservation.”
The report added that though landed homes seem to provide more bang for the buck on a $psf basis when compared to non-landed homes, the absolute quantum of $2 million and above for a freehold/ 999-year leasehold landed home of at least 1,500 sq ft poses a barrier to entry for most of the population. But for those who can afford, landed properties could be one option when considering to purchase a home.
The report said that since there will no longer be any new freehold/999-year leasehold land distributed by the government, the existing stock of landed properties will become even more valuable.
The restriction on the ownership of landed properties means that the market is dependent solely on local demand. But even without foreign inflows, the market for landed property could still be sustained. As Singaporeans become more affluent, the desire to upgrade their homes is likely to increase. All of which resulting in the demand for freehold/ 999-year leasehold landed homes continuing to grow over time.
Mr Paul, chief mortgage officer at iCompareLoan, said that “as the sales proceeds start to come in from the en bloc sales completion, landed homes, especially the inter-terrace segment will hot up.” This Mr Ho believes is because en bloc sales homeowners who are flush with cash, will resort to value hunting instead of choosing smaller condominiums which are beginning to sell at unbelievable prices.
Mr Ho added that given the land scarcity in Singapore, demand for landed homes in Singapore will continue to rise over the long term. He pointed out that Singapore continues to be a global financial centre and a trade hub with high livability scores – all of which attracts high net worth investors to the Republic. All these factors will inevitably fuel demand for landed property in Singapore he added.
Mr Ho believes that value buys in the property market right now are are landed inter-terrace houses which’s per square feet price on the built-up area is usually less than $1,000. But Mr Ho cautioned that the bigger challenge for buyers of landed property is securing the best home loans.
“With the right loan, the buyer can save thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. Adding, “which is why they would have to work with established mortgage brokers who can provide them free service.”
Mr Joseph Tan, Executive Director at CBRE Asia Pacific, speaking at a Propertyguru seminar in May last year said:
“As of now, the total number of housing units offered in the market is 380,000. Landed properties only consist of 1.5 percent of the total housing stock, a small supply compared to non-landed properties which comprise 98.5 percent. Around 90 percent of landed properties are freehold while the remaining 10 percent are leasehold.
“Non-landed homes priced at $1 million to $2 million remain most favoured amongst Singaporeans. For landed homes, most investors prefer those priced at $2 million to $3 million. However, the gap between property prices for 99-year leasehold and freehold landed properties is quite narrow due to the scarcity in this category.”
