Mayfair Gardens plans en bloc sale

THE en bloc market is showing more signs of life, with owners of Mayfair Gardens in Rifle Range Road being the latest to put their estate up for sale.

They want $210 million or more for their 99-year leasehold site, which translates to about $857 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area.

That would allow owners of the 124-unit development to reap between $1 million and $2.1 million each, depending on the size of their units.

In March, just over 80 per cent of owners backed a sale but they wanted to wait for the market to perk up before launching.

Their $210-million price tag also includes an estimated $40 million for development charge and the topping of the site’s lease to 99 years.

CKS Property Consultants, which brokered the Dragon Mansions collective sale – the only one done this year – is the marketing agent.

It said the Rifle Range estate is very attractive, given its location in the established residential area of Bukit Timah and its proximity to the upcoming Blackmore MRT station.

The site, which also fronts Dunearn Road, is next to a good class bungalow area and relatively close to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

It has a land area of 208,475 sq ft and is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 1.4. There are about 72 years left on the lease.

A new development could potentially yield a maximum gross floor area of about 292,000 sq ft, which translates to an estimated 200 units of 1,500 sq ft apartments, CKS said.

The $210-million sale price gives a breakeven level of around $1,400 psf for a developer, said a property consultant, who noted that surrounding projects are mostly selling at lower prices apart from Jardin.

Nearby developments include Gardenvista, Jardin, The Sterling, Maplewoods, and The Nexus.

A unit at freehold Jardin in Dunearn Road sold for $1,510 psf in August.

This year, several collective sale sites – all relatively small ones except for Laguna Park – have been launched for sale.

But only one was sold. Dragon Mansions went for $100.8 million, below the owners’ initial asking price of $120 million.

The Mayfair Gardens tender closes on Jan 14.