Rise in number of landed homes sold at auctions

IN 1Q2017, of eight properties sold under the hammer, four were landed homes, according to JLL in a release on April 3. The four transactions totalled S$11.2 million, or 73.5% of the S$15.23 million auction deals concluded in the first three months of 2017.

A fifth landed property, a trustee sale of a corner terraced house on Jalan Remaja, off Hillview Avenue, was sold just before Knight Frank’s auction on March 22. The old, double-storey house, which sits on a 4,226 sq ft freehold plot, fetched S$3.2 million (S$757 psf), according to a caveat lodged on March 31.

The most expensive landed property sold at an auction in 1Q2017 was a detached house at Eng Kong Garden, a landed housing estate located off Toh Tuck Road. It fetched S$3.95 million (S$915 psf). The three-storey house, which has six bedrooms and a study, has a built-up area of 5,167 sq ft and sits on a freehold site of 4,316 sq ft.

The house at Eng Kong Garden was a mortgagee sale, and was sold at JLL’s auction on March 23. According to URA caveat data, the property was last purchased for S$3.7 million in April 2015. As it was sold within two years of purchase, the seller would have had to pay a 12% seller’s stamp duty on the sale price, which translates into S$474,000.

The other two properties that made up the top three landed home deals at auctions were semi-detached houses. One was a two-storey semi-detached house on Jalan Daud in Kembangan, in the east. The house, which comes with three bedrooms and a study, sits on a freehold site of 3,423 sq ft. It was sold at JLL’s auction on March 23 for S$3.2 million (S$935 psf).

Meanwhile, a three-storey semi-detached house on Jalan Dinding, off Woodlands Road, went under the hammer for S$2.6 million (S$688 psf) at Colliers International’s auction on March 30. An estate sale, the house contains seven bedrooms and a study and sits on a freehold plot of 3,780 sq ft.

A third of landed homes for auction are mortgagee sales

In 1Q2017, a total of 36 landed residential properties were put up for auction — 28.6% higher than the figure the year before — according to Sharon Lee, Knight Frank’s head of auction. Of this, 13, or about a third, were mortgagee sale listings, an 85.7% jump from a year ago, she adds.

“The number of landed residential properties put up for auction has been quite stable — between 28 and 39 units — since 1Q2015,” says Lee. “The number of landed residential properties put up for auction under mortgagee sale has also been above the 12-unit mark since 2Q2016.”

For the past three quarters, the number of non-landed residential properties (apartments and condominiums) put up for auction has hovered around the 60-unit mark. The number of non-landed residential mortgagee sale listings was 40 in 1Q2017, the highest in six years since Knight Frank started tracking auction results in 1Q2011. Seven out of the 40 mortgagee sales are located in prime Districts 1, 9, 10 and 11.

Private-treaty deals

Some landed homes have been put up for auction more than once — and still have not been sold. As such, they are now available for sale by private treaty.

For instance, a 99-year leasehold semi-detached house on Sixth Avenue in prime District 10, has been put up for private-treaty sale. A mortgagee sale, the 3½-storey house sits on a 3,670 sq ft site and has a guide price of S$3.38 million (S$921 psf). Based on URA caveat data, the property was last transacted at S$1.63 million in October 2006.

Another property that is available for sale by private treaty is a strata bungalow on Hua Guan Avenue in District 21. A mortgagee sale, it has a guide price of S$3 million (S$711 psf). Based on URA caveat data, it was last sold for S$3.5 million (S$830 psf) in November 2013. The two-storey bungalow has a basement and attic level and a total strata area of 4,219 sq ft. The property has a 999-year lease and is part of a strata bungalow development with just six units. It comes with private parking and private swimming pool. The latest transaction at the strata bungalow development on Hua Guan Avenue was in February 2011, when a detached house with a strata area of 4,682 sq ft changed hands for S$5 million (S$1,068 psf).

Another landed home that has been put up for auction twice and is now available for sale by private treaty is a Good Class Bungalow on Belmont Road in prime District 10. The property was last put up for auction by Colliers International in February with an opening price of S$25 million. The double-storey GCB comes with a basement entertainment room and games room, four en suite bedrooms including the master suite, a swimming pool and a covered garage that can fit five cars. It sits on a freehold site of 16,327 sq ft and its guide price is pegged to the opening price at the last auction of S$25 million (S$1,531 psf). The property last changed hands for S$16 million in March 2010.

This article first appeared in The Edge Property Singapore, a pullout of The Edge Singapore, on April 17, 2017.

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