Sophia Road site sells for S$33.59 million, below guide price

A RESIDENTIAL redevelopment site at 132 Sophia Road was sold for S$33.59 million to boutique property developer and investor Sin Thai Hin Development, following a tender exercise that closed on Nov 29.

This translated to a land rate of about S$1,172 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of a nominal land betterment charge, said exclusive marketing agent Knight Frank Singapore on Thursday (Dec 21).

The tender for 132 Sophia Road was launched on Nov 2 at a guide price exceeding S$35 million, which would have translated to a land rate of at least S$1,221 psf ppr.

The S$33.59 million price tag at which it was sold to Sin Thai Hin represented a 4 per cent discount to this minimum amount. 

Situated within walking distance to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, Plaza Singapura, Wilkie Edge and Parklane Shopping Mall, 132 Sophia Road has a land area of 13,783 square feet and was sold on a 103-year leasehold tenure.

It is zoned “residential” with a gross plot ratio of 2.1 under the Urban Redevelopment Authority‘s Master Plan 2019.

Noting that land has been “tightly held” in the Dhoby Ghaut precinct where the site is located, Sin Thai Hin chairman Robin Ng said the company intends to redevelop the site into a “new-concept boutique residence that will be the crown jewel atop Mount Sophia alongside the popular Orchard shopping belt”.

Chia Mein Mein, head of capital markets for land and collective sale at Knight Frank, said the property received “keen interest”. She added that it attracted “parties looking for a boutique residential redevelopment site near Orchard Road targeting homebuyers seeking city living with a prime address, or families with children attending the nearby educational institutions”.

Chia noted that this marked the first residential non-landed redevelopment site in District 9 to be sold since 10A and 10B Institution Hill transacted in early 2021.

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“There were no residential collective sales sites sold in District 9 over the past few years, with the introduction of several rounds of cooling measures. Especially with the latest round introduced in April this year, that effectively discouraged most foreign homeowners from agreeing to any collective sale due to the prohibitive tax applied to their replacement cost.”