Florence Regency sold to Chinese developer in S$629m deal

SINGAPORE — In the latest in a slew of successful collective sales in Singapore, privatised HUDC estate Florence Regency has been sold for S$629 million to Chinese developer Logan Property Company.

The sale, which came after an earlier attempt stalled, will see each owner of the 336-unit development in Hougang getting between S$1.84-$1.89 million, said marketing agent JLL on Friday (Oct 20).

An initial en-bloc tender ran into difficulty after a bidder met the reserve price of S$620 million, but refused to match the valuation of S$629 million. Two other bidders did not meet the reserve price. Under the terms of the collective sale agreement, the sale price could not be lower than the valuation, and the tender closed late last month without any of the bidders matching the valuation.

This prompted JLL to look for other developers who were willing to meet the valuation price. The sale was finally closed under private treaty with Logan Property, which means that the price was negotiated directly between the sellers and buyer.

After factoring in differential premiums of $288.6 million to top up the lease to another 99 years and to develop the 389,236 sq ft site at Hougang Avenue 2, the land price translates to about S$842psf per plot ratio, said JLL.

The Florence Regency deal comes amid a flurry of successful collective sales over the past few weeks.

On Monday, freehold development Changi Garden was sold for S$248.8 million – close to 30 per cent higher than the asking price – to CEL Real Estate Development, which beat eight other bidders to win the tender.

The estate, which is more than 30 years’ old, is located at the junction of Upper Changi Road North and Jalan Mariam. Each of the 60 apartment owners in the development will net between S$2.14 million and S$2.27 million, while the 12 penthouse owners will receive between S$4.03 million and S$4.74 million. For the 12 shop owners, their gains are expected to be between S$4.7 million and S$7.08 million.

Earlier this month, Normanton Park, near Kent Ridge, was sold for S$830.1 million. A day earlier, on Oct 4, Amber Park, a 200-unit freehold development in the east, went for S$906.7 million – a record for a freehold property sold en bloc.

By some estimates, en bloc sales in 2017 are headed for a 10-year high as developers look to beef up their land banks in anticipation of an upturn in the property market.