Two private home developments – Whitley Heights off Whitley Road and Residence 81 at Telok Kurau – have been launched for collective sale.
With a land area of 130,165 sq ft, the owners of Whitley Heights are asking for $185 million to $210 million, which works out to about $1,421 psf to $1,613 psf of land area.
The property has 45 walk-up apartments in three 3-storey blocks. Under the 2008 Master Plan, the site is intended for 2-storey mixed landed houses upon redevelopment.
Credo Real Estate, which is handling the tender for the property, said Whitley Heights could be the first site with an area of over 100,000 sq ft to be sold en bloc for landed development in over three years.
The buyer could develop up to 80 strata terrace houses or about 60 strata semi-detached houses on the site, said Credo.
“Supply for landed sites has been few and far between,” said Karamjit Singh, managing director at Credo. “The dearth of supply can only result in price escalation for landed homes.”
Meanwhile, Residence 81 is up for auction with an indicative price of about $25.1 million, which works out to $950 psf of strata floor area.
The five-year-old freehold property will be sold with vacant possession. According to The Business Times, the owner is part of the Hotel 81 group, and the sale is the outcome of a real estate portfolio reorganisation.
The property sits on a 15,455 sq ft site and has a total strata floor area of 26,446 sq ft. Residence 81 has 21 strata-titled units, of which two units on the ground floor have been reconfigured into a communal area.
Grace Ng, deputy managing director of Colliers International, which is handling the auction, said the buyer can apply for naming rights for the project and launch the individual units for sale.
The buyer can also offer the units for rent. “Leasing demand is expected to stay robust in 2011, partly supported by the projected increase in hiring, especially by financial institutions,” she said. “Rents for private residential homes can be expected to climb further by 8 to 12 per cent on average in 2011.”
The tender for Whitley Heights will close on January 26, while the auction for Residence 81 is scheduled on January 19.