Portfolio of 32 strata office units at Manhattan House sold for $14.79 mil
Based on real property title searches, the purchaser of the strata units is Abwin (HP) Pte Ltd, an entity linked to among the biggest used car dealerships in Singapore, that also offers motor financing and hire acquisition.
Manhattan House has a total of 269 strata office units. The 99-year leasehold building was completed in 1976. It was first offered for cumulative sale in September 2019 for $300 million. In January 2023, a second cumulative sale effort was made at a reservation price of $280 million with JLL as the marketing agency. However, there were no takers back then.
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 portion of the site supported for a residential tower of as much as 30 floors with a maximum gross floor area of around 21,000 sq m (226,044 sq ft).
The purchasers are most likely to be investors, hoping to take a placement in case of a successful en bloc sale of the building later on. The units on the third floor manage 9% of the total strata area of the building, and 13% of the complete share worth.
Swee Shou Fern, head of investment advisory at ETC, who brokered the sale, says that the 32 strata office units were bought “for financial investment”. Nonetheless, she diminished to discuss the customer.
A portfolio of 32 strata office units on the 3rd floor of Manhattan House, a 16-storey commercial building on Chin Swee Road. Based on cautions lodged, the 32 units were sold for a sum total of $14.793 million or an average cost of $783 psf, based on caveats lodged as of August 5.
Located in the CBD fringe, Manhattan House is inside walking range of the Chinatown MRT Interchange Station on the Downtown and North East Lines. It is additionally beside Pearl’s Hill City Park.
The commercial building has a 99-year lease with effect from 1969. Thus, it has 43 remaining years. Based on current postings, monthly asking rents for units range from $3.16 psf to $4.02 psf.
The office units seem to have been offered in two batches, with 16 settled for a total of $7.531 million on June 27, and an additional 16 units on July 4 for $7.262 million.
The units become part of a collection of 33 strata office units that were launched for sale last October by top notch advertising and marketing agency ETC. The guide cost was after that $24.5 million. The units offered variety from 323 sq ft to 850 sq ft. Based upon the total strata area of 19,547 sq ft, the guide price worked out to $1,250 psf.
