GuocoLand, a Singapore-based developer controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, is buying an en-bloc property off Holland Road for a record $835 million, the company said on Friday.
The total price for freehold Leedon Heights, located in the prime District 10, is the highest paid for an existing apartment project in Singapore, said DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, which represents the sellers.
The property has a land area of 48,525 sq m and a plot ratio of 1.6, which works out to a sale price of $1,062 a square foot based on the space that the developer can build, said DTZ’s director of investment advisory services Tang Wei Leng.
For the existing owners, the price works out to $1,400 per square foot (psf), as the current buildings have not maximised the space allowed, Ms Tang added. This surpasses the owners’ expectation of around $780 million, or $981psf per plot ratio including an estimated development charge of $40.2 million.
The sale drew five bids. Said Ms Tang: “The market is strong.”
Singapore’s home prices gained 4.8 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months, marking the biggest gain in seven years. Developers are buying more existing properties close to the Republic’s downtown to build up their land bank in anticipation that property prices will increase further.
Guocoland said its wholly owned subsidiary Rivaldo Investments would finance the acquisition, which will close in mid-2008, via debt and internal resources. By May 7, Rivaldo will pay the sellers a deposit of $40.75 million, which is 5 per cent of the total purchase consideration less a tender fee of $1 million.
Last June, an apartment in Leedon Heights sold for $583psf, according to a Government website. — Bloomberg
Source : Weekend Today - 28 Apr 2007
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