Another auction raises $4.61m for two offices in The Central.
Thu, Oct 28, 2010
The Business Times
By Kalpana Rashiwala
A FEW relatively big-ticket items were sold at property auctions last week. These include a freehold bungalow in the Chestnut Avenue Good Class Bungalow Area which went for $5.24 million, and a couple of adjoining office units at The Central which fetched $4.61 million.
Bidding for the bungalow at 5 Chestnut Close started at $4.5 million and the property received 16 bids in total. It was sold to a Singaporean buyer. The sale price works out to about $874 per square foot based on a land area of 5,998 square feet. The new owner of the part one/part two storey bungalow is expected to tear down the existing property and redevelop it.
It was sold at a Colliers International auction on Oct 20 by the trustee of an estate. The same party had earlier divested two other freehold bungalows at a Colliers auction last month. No 4 Margoliouth Road (off Stevens Road) fetched $13.6 million or $1,304 psf based on its land area of 10,433 sq ft, while 53 Sixth Avenue was sold for $12 million or $1,145 psf based on a land area of 10,476 sq ft.
A DTZ auction on Oct 19 saw two adjoining office units on the 19th floor of The Central, above Clarke Quay MRT Station, being sold for $4.61 million or $1,815 psf based on their total strata area of about 2,540 sq ft.
The Central is built on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure starting Jan 2, 2001.
The buyer is a Singaporean company that is expected to occupy the premises. The office units were sold by a liquidator. The company being liquidated is understood to have been the mortgagor of five other office units on the same floor of The Central that were the subject of a mortgagee sale at a DTZ auction in July. That transaction was for $9.98 million, translating to a higher unit price of $1,991 psf. Those five units enjoy a superior view, facing Marina Bay Sands, whereas the latest two units have views of Swissotel Merchant Court and a partial view of the Singapore River.
The five units are understood to have been bought by a Singaporean investor. Bidding for both sets of properties at their respective auctions was very competitive, reflecting the strong interest in the strata office market on the back of rising office rents, DTZ said.
The Central, developed by Far East Organization, comprises a retail podium, two small office-home office towers, a 25-storey office tower, a sky garden and recreational facilities. The project has clinched the international Fiabci Prix d'Excellence Award 2010 (office category) as well as Singapore's Building and Construction Authority's Construction Excellence Award 2010.
This article was first published in The Business Times.
