Published December 16, 2010

Tuan Sing buys Serene House for $99.1m
Unit land price is about $1,388 psf of potential gross floor area of 75,492 sq ft

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

TUAN Sing has made its second Singapore real estate property purchase this week. It yesterday inked a deal to buy Serene House, opposite the upcoming Botanic Gardens MRT Station, through a collective sale for $99.1 million.

The price for the freehold District 10 property, a short walk away from Botanic Gardens' Eco-Lake, works out to a unit land price of about $1,388 per square foot of potential gross floor area of about 75,492 sq ft.

This takes into account an estimated $5.7 million payable to the state for the potential acquisition of a 9,192 sq ft driveway and 10 per cent additional gross floor area for balconies. No development charge is payable due to the high development baseline reflecting a 1.8 plot ratio on the site.

Under Master Plan 2008, the site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio. Serene House has a freehold land area of 39,828 sq ft. Assuming the site, at Cluny Park Road, can be amalgamated with the driveway, the total site area can be potentially enlarged to about 49,021 sq ft.

The enlarged plot can be built into a four-storey condo with 68 units averaging 1,000 sq ft nestled in a predominantly landed housing locale.

Analysts estimate the project could break even at about $2,000-2,100 psf. Units at Nassim Park Residences have sold at an average price of $3,659 psf in the second half of this year.

On Tuesday, Tuan Sing emerged as the top bidder for a 99-year leasehold low-rise private residential site at Seletar Road . Its bid of $123 million works out to $468 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Analysts have estimated the breakeven cost for a new condo on the site at $800-900 psf.

As for its latest purchase of Serene House, Tuan Sing said yesterday that it intends to develop 'an ultra-luxurious project for this exclusive freehold site'.

In a statutory filing with Singapore Exchange, the group said its acquisition of Serene House is subject to Strata Titles Board's approval and conditional upon Tuan Sing receiving an in-principle approval for the purchase of the adjoining state land from Singapore Land Authority.

Serene House is a four-storey walk-up residential block comprising 24 apartment units. Its owners will each receive about $4.1 million from the sale, said Colliers International, which brokered the sale.

The tender for the property closed on Dec 14, attracting seven bids. Tuan Sing's offer was the highest.

'The tender was well participated by significant property market players including major developers and contractors. The seven highly-competitive bids we received demonstrate the excellent development potential of Serene House in terms of location, convenience and exclusivity,' said Colliers executive director (investment services) Tang Wei Leng.

Colliers is also marketing Serene Centre nearby. An expression of interest exercise for this property also closed on Dec 14 and is said to have drawn strong interest. Serene Centre has a plot ratio of 1.4 and is zoned for commercial/ residential use. It is owned by Lok Joo Pte Ltd, controlled by an Ng family that was also involved with developing Textile Centre

Source: www.businesstimes.com.sg

Published December 15, 2010


Tuan Sing top bidder for Seletar site
Offer of $123m just 0.7% above next highest; 99-year plot drew 11 bids

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

TUAN Sing yesterday made a rare appearance at a state tender, and that too as the top bidder. Its offer of $123 million for a 99-year leasehold low-rise private residential site at Seletar Road works out to about $468 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).


While that was below a seasoned property consultant's prediction that the top bid would be in the $550-600 psf ppr range, the 11 bids that the plot drew yesterday surpassed his earlier prediction of 4-8 bids. The turnout was one of the best showings at state tenders this year.

Tuan Sing unit Asplenium Land's top bid was just 0.7 per cent above the next highest offer of $122.1 million or $464 psf ppr by a unit of Fragrance Group.

'Developers still have a strong appetite for choice residential sites like this, in the established Seletar Hills residential estate and next to the future retail facility at Greenwich V,' said Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui. 'However, at the same time, developers are cautious with their bids, bearing in mind the cooling measures put in place on Aug 30, the substantial state land sales programme for H1 2011 and a lingering fear of whether there'll be further property cooling measures.'

Also bidding yesterday was Malaysia's SP Setia International, which offered about $440 psf ppr. Far East Organization - which in September last year clinched an adjacent plot which it is now developing into Greenwich V shops and The Greenwich condo - teamed up with Japan's Sekisui House to emerge as the fourth highest bidder yesterday at about $433 psf ppr.


The lowest bid of about $335 psf ppr was from Meadows Investment (controlled by Tiong Aik Group executive director Neo Tiam Boon). The tender also drew bids from Hong Leong Group/City Developments, Centurion RE and EL Development, among others.

The 1.7-hectare site can be developed into a five-storey condo or two-storey landed/strata landed homes. Property consultants' estimates of Tuan Sing's breakeven cost for a new condo are $800-900 psf.

Mr Ong noted that at The Greenwich next door, smallish units have fetched $1,300 psf upwards and normal-sized units $1,100 psf upwards in recent months. Given these price levels, he described yesterday's tender bids as 'not bullish'. He attributes this to the latest site being 'landlocked', sandwiched by the Greenwich development, a SingTel telephone exchange and landed estates.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho reckons that a new condo on the plot is likely to attract middle-income households in the location as well as investors targeting the labour force in Seletar Aerospace Park.

Far East had paid $376 psf ppr for its plot. Up to 15.3 per cent of the maximum gross floor area of Far East's site was set aside for commercial development. That tender attracted a dozen bids.

SLP International Property Consultants executive director Nicholas Mak said that the 11 bids at yesterday's tender was the highest for a private housing site offered at a state tender since June this year, when a plot at Upper Serangoon Road/Pheng Geck Avenue drew 15 bids.

Property market watchers were surprised by Tuan Sing's participation at yesterday's tender. The group, controlled by the Nursalim (also known as Liem) family from Indonesia, has been keeping a low profile in the Singapore property market of late. Earlier this year, it completed the sale of Katong Mall to a consortium of investors for $247.6 million.

A Tuan Sing unit is developing Mont Timah, a 99-year leasehold project comprising 32 strata cluster homes in Upper Bukit Timah, boasting views of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve