A PAIR of shophouses along Bali Lane in Bugis is up for sale by tender at a “fire sale” price of S$9.8 million, while another shophouse at Duxton Road has been launched for sale with an indicative price range of S$4.9 million to S$5 million, marketing agent PropNex Realty announced on Wednesday.
The guide price of S$9.8 million for the shophouses at 13, 14 Bali Lane works out to about S$3,797 psf (per square foot).
Meanwhile, adjacent shophouses 11,12 Bali Lane were transacted in October for S$18.8 million, or about S$4,100 psf.
Speaking to The Business Times on Wednesday, PropNex Realty’s associate director Loyalle Chin said 13,14 Bali Lane is selling at such a “huge discount” because “the owner wishes to cash out quickly”, to redeploy capital for personal, non-commercial use.
The two-storey shophouses in Bugis have a 999-year leasehold tenure, with a land size of 1,470 square feet (sq ft), and a total floor area of about 2,581 sq ft.
It is zoned “commercial”, and within a three-minute walk to Bugis MRT interchange on the East-West and Downtown lines. Currently partially tenanted, it is suitable for investment, own retail or office usage, PropNex said.
New commercial developments in the region include the 770,000 sq ft, 30-storey Grade A office tower at Guoco Midtown, as well as the new Shaw Towers development.
Added Mr Chin: “Bugis is becoming increasingly attractive to a growing pool of multinational companies based in Grade A office developments DUO Tower, Bugis Junction Towers and the upcoming Guoco Midtown… as well as to the millennials who appreciate the diversity in Bali Lane and Haji Lane filled with live local music, coffee places and attractive F&B (food and beverage) establishments.
“It has truly become a ‘hip, culturally-rich and vibrant commercial district’.”
Separately, the S$4.9 million guide price for 42 Duxton Road translates to about S$2,408 psf of floor area, PropNex said.
In the vicinity, 37 Duxton Road was transacted earlier in January this year at S$5.65 million, or S$2,897 psf.
The shophouse at 42 Duxton Road has also been zoned “commercial”. It has a land size of 1,118 sq ft, with a total floor area of about 2,035 sq ft.
With retail on the first storey and office on the second, the Duxton shophouse is tenanted to Kokuyo, a furniture and space design company with global offices in China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. The firm has occupied the premises since 2011, and is looking to stay, BT understands.
According to PropNex, it has a rental yield of 3.3 per cent. Said Mr Chin: “With rental yields generally compressed between 1.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent, this is certainly one of the highest rental yields for a shophouse in the central business district (CBD).”
Duxton is surrounded by three MRT stations nearby, including Outram Park interchange, Tanjong Pagar MRT, and the upcoming Maxwell MRT station, slated to open by 2021.
In a statement on Wednesday, PropNex added that Singapore’s real estate now offers the best investment prospects in the Asia-Pacific for 2020, following a report by the Urban Land Institute and PwC.
Said Mr Chin: “With the influx of ultra high net worth individuals and institutional funds from Hong Kong and mainland Chinese, our market forecast for heritage shophouses and commercial assets in the city fringe region including District 1 (CBD) and District 7 (Bugis) will continue to rise by at least 5-10 per cent for the next 12 months.”
The tender exercise for 13, 14 Bali Lane and 42 Duxton Road will close at 3pm on Dec 17.
By The Business Times
