Ravi Chandran
A three-bedroom Laguna Park unit has been put up for auction for $2 million
A three-bedroom unit at Laguna Park has been put up for auction for $2 million on June 23. Edmund Tie, which is handling the owner auction said the property did not receive any bids at the auction.
Spanning 1,615 sq ft, the auction price for the three-bedroom Laguna Park unit works out to $1238 psf.
According to Ms Joy Tan, Head of Auction and Sales at Edmund Tie, “The unit is one of the largest three-bedroom layouts available at Laguna Park.” All three bedrooms in the unit on the 24th level of the 25 floor development provide an unblocked view of the sea and East Coast Park. Ms Tan added that the dining area can easily accommodate an eight-seater table and that the kitchen space extends to a yard area, utility room and toilet.
The Laguna Park unit was renovated after it was purchased in 2010 for $1.5 million ($929 psf) and is in good, well-kept condition, Ms Tan said.
Laguna Park is a 99-year leasehold private residential estate comprising seven residential blocks of 506 apartment units, 10 penthouses and 12 commercial units, and has a site area of 62,197.25 sq m (approx. 669,484 sq ft). The high-rise site off Marine Parade Road, offers panoramic sea views and is set to have an MRT station (under-construction) at its doorstep.
Laguna Park is next to the upcoming Siglap MRT station and is just 15-minutes’ drive to the central business district and Changi Airport. It is also close to East Coast Park, which is easily accessible via an underpass.
Major arterial roads as well as expressways such as Marine Parade Road, East Coast Road, and East Coast Parkway (ECP) provide seamless connectivity to other parts of Singapore. Laguna Park is also a brisk 15-minute drive to the Central Business District and Changi International Airport.
Owners of Laguna Park unit can enjoy a leisurely walk along Siglap Link Park towards Upper East Coast Road for grocery shopping at the supermarket, or be spoilt by a wide variety of dining options that the area offers. The upcoming Siglap MRT Station, situated at the door step of Laguna Park, will enhance the connectivity of the site when it is completed in 2023. East Coast Park, which offers a wide array of sporting, dining and recreational activities, is accessible via an underpass adjoining the site.
Mr Paul Ho, chief officer at iCompareLoan, said: “The Laguna Park unit is a good buy, but buyers must be aware that the development is about 40 years old and so the maintenance costs will be on the high side.”
“Buyers planning to invest in properties like Laguna Park should ensure funds availability for purchase, and the key to that is to make sure they have the best home loan,” Mr Ho added.
In 2019, Laguna Park unsuccessfully launched for en bloc sale with a price tag of $1.48 billion. The collective sale committee arrived at the price after including a differential premium of about $407.4 million and a lease top-up premium of around $420.7 million (subject to authorities’ approval). The reserve price for the aborted collective sale of Laguna Park translated to a land rate of about $1,231 psf per plot ratio.
Mr Ho said, the previous collective sale committee at Laguna Park acted decisively and quickly. Whatever decision 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 he said was 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.
As collective sale process takes 20 to 30 months to complete, during this time, the owners typically do not have sufficient funds for down-payment and their CPF OA funds are tied up in the property, hence they cannot buy a new condominium early.
By the time the transaction is completed in 20 to 30 months later, the property prices would have already moved up 10 to 20 per cent. This is already evidenced by sellers of older estate asking higher prices. Hence if the process takes 20 months to 30 months, owners may need to consider the cost of a replacement unit by that time, else they may want to hold up a higher selling price.
