Portfolio of 32 strata office units at Manhattan House sold for $14.79 mil
A portfolio of 32 strata office units on the third floor of Manhattan House, a 16-storey business structure on Chin Swee Road. Based on caveats lodged, the 32 units were offered for a total of $14.793 million or a typical cost of $783 psf, based upon caveats lodged as of August 5.
The office units turn up to have been sold in two batches, with 16 transacted for a total amount of $7.531 million on June 27, and another 16 units on July 4 for $7.262 million.
Under the 2019 Master Plan, the 4167.7 sq m (44,861 sq ft) site is zoned “commercial” with a gross plot ratio of 4.7. However, URA has indicated that the site might be rezoned to “residential with commercial at first storey”, with a significant section of the site allowed for a residential tower of as much as 30 floors with an optimum gross floor area of around 21,000 sq m (226,044 sq ft).
Based on real estate title searches, the purchaser of the strata units is Abwin (HP) Pte Ltd, an entity connected to among the largest used car dealerships in Singapore, which also provides motor financing and hire acquisition.
The customers are likely to be investors, hoping to take a setting in the event of a successful en bloc sale of the property in the future. The units on the third level manage 9% of the overall strata area of the property, and 13% of the overall share worth.
The commercial establishment has a 99-year lease with effect from 1969. Thus, it has 43 remaining years. Based on latest listings, every month asking rents for units vary from $3.16 psf to $4.02 psf.
Swee Shou Fern, head of expenditure advisory at ETC, that brokered the sale, claims that the 32 strata office units were purchased “for financial investment”. However, she waned to talk about the buyer.
Located in the CBD fringe, Manhattan House is inside walking range of the Chinatown MRT Interchange Station on the Downtown and North East Lines. It is likewise adjacent to Pearl’s Hill City Park.
The units are part of a profile of 33 strata office units that were introduced for sale last October by exclusive marketing agency ETC. The guide price was after that $24.5 million. The units sold range from 323 sq ft to 850 sq ft. Based upon the total strata area of 19,547 sq ft, the guide price worked out to $1,250 psf.
Manhattan House has a total of 269 strata office units. The 99-year leasehold structure was completed in 1976. It was first offered for cumulative sale in September 2019 for $300 million. In January 2023, a second cumulative sale effort was made at a reserve rate of $280 million with JLL as the marketing firm. Nevertheless, there were no takers during the time.
