Portfolio of 32 strata office units at Manhattan House sold for $14.79 mil
Located in the CBD fringe, Manhattan House is within walking distance of the Chinatown MRT Interchange Station on the Downtown and North East Lines. It is likewise adjacent to Pearl’s Hill City Park.
Swee Shou Fern, head of financial investment advisory at ETC, that brokered the sale, says that the 32 strata office units were bought “for financial investment”. Nevertheless, she waned to discuss the buyer.
The units are part of a collection of 33 strata office units that were introduced for sale last October by outstanding advertising and marketing agency ETC. The guide rate was then $24.5 million. The units offered range from 323 sq ft to 850 sq ft. Based on the overall strata location of 19,547 sq ft, the overview price turned out to $1,250 psf.
Newport Residences condominium
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 cautions lodged, the 32 units were marketed for a total of $14.793 million or a typical rate of $783 psf, based upon caveats lodged as of August 5.
Manhattan House has a total of 269 strata office units. The 99-year leasehold building was finished in 1976. It was first put on the market for cumulative sale in September 2019 for $300 million. In January 2023, a second cumulative sale attempt was made at a reserve cost of $280 million with JLL as the marketing company. However, there were no takers during the time.
The office units turn up to have been sold in two batches, with 16 negotiated for a total of $7.531 million on June 27, and an additional 16 units on July 4 for $7.262 million.
Based upon property title searches, the customer of the strata units is Abwin (HP) Pte Ltd, an entity linked to one of the biggest pre-owned car dealerships in Singapore, which also offers motor financing and hire purchase.
The commercial establishment has a 99-year contract with effect from 1969. Therefore, it has 43 remaining years. Based on current advertisements, monthly asking rents for units vary from $3.16 psf to $4.02 psf.
The buyers are likely to be investors, wishing to take a placement in case of an effective en bloc sale of the property later on. The units on the third ground control 9% of the overall strata location of the building, and 13% of the complete share value.
Under the 2019 Master Plan, the 4167.7 sq m (44,861 sq ft) site is zoned “commercial” with a gross plot proportion of 4.7. However, URA has indicated that the site might be rezoned to “housing with retail at first storey”, with a substantial part of the site supported for a residential tower of approximately 30 storeys with an optimum gross floor area of around 21,000 sq m (226,044 sq ft).
