A semi-detached house near Serangoon MRT station was the only property sold under vacant possession out of eight properties submitted at a JLL auction last Thursday.
Held at The Amara Hotel, the public auction had also showcased five residential apartments and two office units.
The 3,596 sq ft home at 67A Wolskel Road was sold by mortgagee sale for $4.31 million and was the most expensive listing on JLL’s auction list. At over two-storeys high, it comprises 5+2 bedrooms and sits on a freehold site.
According to a recent Knight Frank report, there has been a rise in the number of landed homes and units with freehold status being put on the auction block this year.
Sharon Lee, Director & Head of Auctions at Knight Frank Singapore, said: “The relatively higher total quantum of landed properties, coupled with the implementation of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, has made it increasingly difficult for landed homeowners to service their mortgage payments. This has in turn resulted in an increasing trend of landed properties being put up for auction.”
At the same time, the number of freehold properties placed under the hammer was up for a third straight quarter, growing by 6.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to 70 units in Q3 2014. This is 14.8 percent higher than last year.
“Due to their tenure, freehold properties are generally more attractive to buyers in the open-market as compared to leasehold properties. Nevertheless, the relatively high asking prices of these freehold properties could have contributed to an increase in the number being put up for auction in recent quarters,” said Lee.
Knight Frank expects total auction sales this year to reach around $70 million.
Meanwhile, the next auction by JLL will be held on 16 December.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
