Four adjoining office units in Orchard Shopping Centre were sold for $8.55 million, or around $3,242 psf at a Knight Frank auction this week after fierce competition from two bidders.
This is a record price for the development and for the Orchard area to date in 2014. Last year a 667 sq ft unit in the area was transacted at a slightly higher price of $3,297 psf.
The tenanted units are in freehold building with en bloc potential near Somerset MRT station.
Sharon Lee, Head of Auctions at Knight Frank Singapore said, “We believe this strong performance is largely due to the fact that the supply of freehold office units coming up for sale in a good location is rare. This has in turn, why in my opinion, both bidders were keen and adamant in acquiring the property and are willing to pay a premium for such a rare property.”
There was little interest for the other properties up for auction, with the exception of a two-bedroom penthouse at Holland Residences which was sold even before the auction began.
Lee said this is a reflection of the market now. “With the introduction of the ABSD and TDSR, buyers are more selective of what they want to buy, especially residential properties. You do not have the luxury of changing house every year. This applies to industrial properties as well.”
Eight commercial and industrial units, and seven residential units were left unsold.
Although such properties are withdrawn after auction, there are some instances where they are sold at a later date due to the wider exposure given to them after the auction.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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