Analysts believe that the entry of mega developments or sites with more than one million sq ft, will take the latest en bloc fever to a new level, reported The Straits Times.
The most recent to get on the bandwagon is the 1,006-unit Mandarin Gardens, the owners of which have agreed to form a collective sales committee over the weekend.
It joins other large en bloc sites such as the 1.1 million sq ft Braddell View estate, which has voted to form its collective sale committee last year, and the 999-year leasehold Cashew Heights.
To date, the biggest successful en bloc sale – in terms of price – is Farrer Court, which was sold to a consortium for $1.34 billion.
If the collective sale of Mandarin Gardens goes through, Savills Singapore’s research head Alan Cheong believe that it may fetch “way past a billion”, making it another major landmark in Singapore’s en bloc sales history.
Built in 1986, the development comes with a minimart, a restaurant, a kindergarten and 10 shop lots.
Cheong expects a developer who pays an all-in price – including land lease topping-up premium as well as other charges – to “set a base price of $1,300 to $1,400 psf ppr”.
However, the development’s sheer size, at 1.07 million sq ft, makes it a “tough sell”, said ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak.
The process may also get more complicated, even ugly at times, due to a large number of owners involved.
“I have never seen a sale of anything so big… in the East Coast,” he said. “It’s so big that even the big boys may want to go in as a joint venture to basically share the risk.”
Mak noted that almost 3,000 housing units could be developed on Mandarin Gardens’ existing area, and it may also be split into two new developments.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
