By Robin Chan & Jessica Cheam

THE Laguna Park sales committee has voted to call off the faltering collective sale of their Marine Parade condo, after an initial bid failed.

The on-off sale would have been one of the largest here, with an asking price of around $1 billion. But lukewarm response from developers and a fast-approaching deadline for a sale to be completed sealed its fate - for now.

Mr Karamjit Singh, managing director of Credo Real Estate, told The Straits Times that the Laguna Park sales committee decided to let the collective sales agreement (CSA) expire next month: 'To get the 80 per cent takes time, and because it's a very big development, there was not the luxury of time.'

Last month, owners in the East Coast estate failed to sell the property en bloc for $1.2 billion through a tender process. They were considering a lower price of between $950 million and $1 billion, below the $1.2 billion reserve price which would require them to get an 80 per cent vote of approval from owners.

The impending expiry of the CSA left them with little time to get the required signatures. The committee thus decided that instead of pursuing the more than 400 signatures needed, it would be better to start afresh with a new CSA next year, giving them a full 12 months to pursue another sale, Mr Singh said.

Though there had been talks with a potential buyer, nothing came of them, given the sales committee's decision not to pursue the signatures.

It is still too early to say when a new sales committee will be nominated, but Mr Singh says it will be next year.

Owners had not been officially informed of the development when The Straits Times called yesterday, but one who was against the sale and declined to be named was relieved: 'It's a wise move because of the present market situation. One year later, the property market might be picking up again and we would be more justified to sell.'

The Laguna Park sale has been surrounded by drama from the word go. The development obtained the 80 per cent approval from the 500 or so owners late last year, but the $1.2 billion price was decided late 2007.

There was still a vocal minority strongly opposed to a sale, and incidents of vandalism occurred at the condo protesting the deal.

Laguna is a former HUDC estate with a land area of about 677,493 sq ft and a gross plot ratio of 2.8.

If the sale of the 528-unit leasehold project had come off, it would have only been the second en bloc deal this year. The first was the smaller Dragon Mansion in Spottiswoode Park Road, which eventually sold for $100.8 million last month despite asking for $120 million.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.