Laguna Park owners mull lower sale price

OWNERS of units at Laguna Park, whose $1.2 billion collective sale bid failed last week, are now considering a lower sale price of between $950 million and $1 billion.

The new range works out to between $693 and $723 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), including an estimated $400 million payable to the state to raise the intensity of the site to the plot ratio of 2.8, and topping up the lease to a fresh 99-year term. This compares to $844 psf ppr at the reserve price of $1.2 billion.

These were some of the numbers discussed at a meeting of about 200 Laguna Park residents yesterday afternoon, called to consider the results of the failed tender and discuss possible options.

Even though two bids had been submitted by the close of tender last Tuesday, no buyer put down payment to seal the $1.2 billion deal.

Credo Real Estate, which is marketing the 528-unit leasehold Marine Parade project, said last week that one submission from an Indonesian-owned, locally incorporated company offered $1.728 billion – above the owners’ reserve price.

But it withdrew its offer on Thursday, citing difficulties faced by its bankers in processing and remitting the funds to Singapore. The only other submission was from a prominent local developer, with whom Credo is now conducting negotiations.

Credo’s managing director, Karamjit Singh, said that the owners now have till around mid-November to strike a deal with a buyer, before the collective sale agreement expires in December.

The sales committee will now need 80 per cent of the Laguna Park owners to agree to what is likely to be a lower sale price than their reserve, in order to close a deal.

Laguna Park has a land area of about 677,463 sq ft. Some 1,500 apartments with an average size of about 1,200 sq ft each can be built on the site.