Ravi Chandran
Knight Frank Singapore, representing the interests of the owners of Green Court via their collective sale committee, announced on Jan 6 the launch of the sale of Green Court by tender. Knight Frank Singapore is the exclusive marketing agent of the mixed-use redevelopment site, situated along Geylang Road.
Green Court is a freehold, three-storey commercial and residential development comprising 3 ground floor shops and 6 two-storey walk-up apartments on the second level. It has a site area of 894.5 sq m (approx. 9,628 sq ft).
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Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2019 Master Plan, the Green Court site is uniquely zoned part “Commercial” with a Gross Plot Ratio (GPR) of 3.0, as well as part “Residential” with a GPR of 2.8. This allows redevelopment potential to reach up to a maximum permissible Gross Floor Area (GFA) of approximately 28,216 sq ft.
The immediate vicinity of Green Court is predominantly surrounded by commercial shophouses, apartments and hotels, and is close to retail malls and office buildings at Paya Lebar Central and the Tanjong Katong area. The development has prominent frontage onto Geylang Road.
Major arterial roads and expressways such as the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), and East Coast Parkway (ECP) provide seamless connectivity to other parts of Singapore. The site also boasts a short 10-minute drive to the Central Business District (CBD), Marina Bay and Tanjong Pagar.
Aljunied (EW9) and Dakota (CC8) MRT Stations are also located approximately 7 minutes’ and 10 minutes’ walk away respectively, providing ease and convenience in public transportation along both the East-West Line and Circle Line.
The owners of Green Court are expecting offers above their reserve price of S$28 million. Including an additional development charge of approximately S$5.24 million payable to the authorities to maximise the GFA, this translates to a land rate of approximately S$1,178 psf ppr.
Mr Ian Loh, Head of Investment and Capital Markets (Land, Building & Collective Sales), Knight Frank Singapore, says, “The site is within walking distance to a wide array of leisure, entertainment and dining amenities along Geylang Road and the rejuvenated Paya Lebar Commercial Hub, including PLQ Mall, Singpost Centre, Paya Lebar Square and Kinex Mall. In view of its location and bite-sized quantum, we expect keen interest for this redevelopment opportunity.”
The tender for Green Court will close on 19 February 2020, Wednesday at 3.00 pm.
The vibrant en bloc sale market was checked with the introduction of the property cooling measures introduced by the Government in July last year. The Government said the property cooling measures were necessary to check sharp increase in prices, which could run ahead of economic fundamentals and raise the risk of a destabilising correction later, especially with rising interest rates and the strong pipeline of housing supply.
Some observers said that the en bloc sales market will be dampened by the cooling measures. As developers become wary of end-demand and are hurt by the 5 per cent non-remittable Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) on land purchase, it is expected to have an impact on their offer prices.
Before the introduction of the property cooling measures, overall private property prices rose across most market segments, with the largest price surge seen in the Core Central Region and Outside of Central Region.
As developers’ existing stock continues to diminish and supply of completed homes remain low, many projects especially those in the CCR have raised prices of their unsold units, some by even double-digits this year. Private residential market continued to gain traction with individual re-sellers have also seized the opportunity of increasing their asking prices in light of the more positive market sentiment fueled by the recent collective sales frenzy.
The higher launch prices at some new projects have however slowed the buying momentum in the primary market and sales volume has dipped considerably quarter-on-quarter. While overall sales had slipped quarter-on-quarter, it rose marginally on a year-on-year basis.
Mr Paul Ho, the chief mortgage officer at iCompareLoan said, “despite the cooling measures, Green Court may appeal to developers because of its location.”
He added: “Whatever decisions owners facing en bloc sale make, it is better to make it fast so that the sale (or non-sale) can be concluded with minimal delay and maximum benefit to the owners.”
One way is to conduct a Collective Sales Agreement (CSA) as well as concurrently collect a “Non Collective Sales Agreement (NCSA)”, so that once a NCSA reaches 20%, the collective sale process is called off. There is really no point to drag on.
Mr Ho suggested that if one’s home is at risk of en bloc, the owner could consider a home loan where there is no locked-in penalty, but instead entails a higher housing interest rate cost. The next best option is to look for packages with a waiver of locked-in penalty due to sale of property. Such owners may contact a mortgage broker to assist them to find such packages with waiver of locked-in penalty.
Whatever decisions owners facing en bloc sale make, it is better to make it fast so that the sale (or non-sale) can be concluded with minimal delay and maximum benefit to the owners. One way is to conduct a Collective Sales Agreement (CSA) as well as concurrently collect a “Non Collective Sales Agreement (NCSA)”, so that once a NCSA reaches 20%, the collective sale process is called off. There is really no point to drag on the collective sale process.
