Shunfu Ville sale a boost for old estates

Shunfu Ville sale a boost for old estates

The Shunfu Ville collective sale late last month has given some owners of ageing homes some hope that they can reap a collective sale bonanza.

Property consultants said inquiries started coming in from estates shortly after the Shunfu Ville announcement while efforts are already under way at other blocks.

"There is interest from developers, which is why we are stepping up our search for suitable engagements or projects to work on," said JLL international director Karamjit Singh, who brokered the Shunfu Ville sale.

The 358-unit privatised Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) estate near Marymount MRT station was sold for $638 million late last month, the first collective sale in nearly a year and the largest since 2007.

Each owner will pocket about $1.782 million, or nearly 50 per cent above the typical value of a unit on its own.

It was a shot in the arm for an otherwise moribund collective sales market, with just mixed-use Thong Sia Building sold for $380 million last year and no collective sales in 2014.

In comparison, a record $11.6 billion of collective sales took place in 2007 at the market peak.

Elsewhere, Changi Garden condo and a former HUDC project in Potong Pasir are already into the sale process.

The collective sales committee at the mixed development Changi Garden condo off Upper Changi North Road selected lawyers and a marketing agent last month. The 84-unit estate has tried going en bloc twice but came up short both times.

Some residents at The Capri Condominium in Stevens Road are also said to be exploring the option, having recently sent out invitations to quote.

Among privatised HUDC estates, the collective sales committee at Blocks 110 to 112 Potong Pasir Avenue 1 is collecting signatures from owners and have apparently obtained about 60 per cent of the required minimum 80 per cent approval. It will be the 175-unit estate's first collective attempt since it was privatised in 2014.

The collective sales committee at former HUDC project Tampines Court is drafting a sale agreement, while residents of former HUDC project Eunosville are said to be considering reigniting the process.

Both estates have attempted to go en bloc twice. The 560-unit Tampines Court was privatised in 2002 and the 330-unit Eunosville in 2011.

"Owners of privatised HUDC developments are under pressure as their estates grow older and the responsibility of upgrading rests on their shoulders now," said Lee Liat Yeang, senior partner in the real-estate practice group of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson.

"As time passes, the value of topping up the lease (of the site) will go up and correspondingly, the amount of money that goes to owners in a collective sale will come down," added Mr Lee.

wrennie@sph.com.sg


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