High Point back on market after HK-listed buyer pulls out of deal

FREEHOLD condominium High Point is taking another shot at a collective sale with a reserve price of S$550 million after Hong Kong-listed developer Shun Tak Holdings called off the en bloc deal in December.

At S$550 million, this works out to S$2,508 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) after factoring in the 7 per cent bonus gross floor area (GFA) for balconies. The development charge payable for the 7 per cent bonus GFA is about S$18.8 million, according to exclusive marketing agent Savills.

Located at 30 Mount Elizabeth in Orchard Road, High Point is a 22-storey tower comprising 57 apartments and 2 penthouses. The apartments are about 268 square metres (2,885 square feet) and 272 sq m (2,928 sq ft) in size, while the two penthouses are about 589 sq m (6,340 sq ft) and 592 sq m (6,372 sq ft).

It was announced on Dec 9 last year that Shun Tak had clinched the freehold condominium in the prior tender for nearly S$556.7 million, or S$2,537 psf ppr including the development charge.

A week later, the government implemented another round of cooling measures, which included a hike in the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for residential developers which went from 25 per cent to a steeper 35 per cent. Developers now have to pay the 35 per cent remissible ABSD on their residential site purchase price, with interest, if they fail to complete the residential project and sell all units within 5 years of acquiring the site. At the same time, foreign buyers also have to pay a heftier 30 per cent ABSD rate for any residential purchases, up from 20 per cent.

Shortly after, Shun Tak pulled out of the deal. While the developer did not respond to comments from The Business Times at the time, market watchers say that the property cooling measures could have been a deterring factor.

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Back in 2019, High Point also attempted a collective sale with a price tag of S$550 million.

According to Savills, the High Point site can be redeveloped into an ultra-luxurious development of up to 98 units, assuming an average size of about 200 sq m (2,153 sq ft) per unit.

Jeremy Lake, Savills’ managing director (investment sales & capital markets), said: “A few developers have been monitoring High Point with us over the last few weeks and we feel that it is timely to relaunch the public tender now to give developers ample time to evaluate the opportunity. However, we will only set the tender closing date once we have received confirmed interest from a developer(s).”

The tender is being relaunched within the life cycle of the existing collective sale agreement (CSA), which will expire end-September 2022.

The longer tender period will give developers more time to digest the cooling measures and revive their appetite for prime sites, Lake went on to say. "Developers are keeping an eye on the volume and prices of new home sales every month, looking for evidence that there is foreign buyer activity at the ultra luxury end of the market," he added.

Under the 2019 Master Plan, the 47,606 sq ft site is zoned ‘Residential’ with an allowable gross plot ratio of 2.8 and has a height control of up to 36-storeys. High Point has an existing verified GFA of approximately 211,976 sq ft, based on a plot ratio of 4.45. In addition, the development baseline is about 213,383 sq ft with a plot ratio of 4.48.

Lake expects demand from foreign buyers for new ultra-luxury condominiums to resume later this year, adding that the scarcity of supply in this segment will lead to rising prices. He reckons the latest property curbs will make it "harder to achieve the 80 per cent mandate for many future en bloc projects, particularly in the Core Central Region (CCR) where foreign ownership is much higher."

Completed in 1973, the condo is close to to Paragon Shopping Centre and Orchard MRT station as well as medical facilities such as Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Paragon Medical. Schools within a 2km radius include Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary & Secondary School and St Joseph’s Institution.

READ MORE: 

• Pansy Ho's Shun Tak walks away from S$556m High Point deal amid latest property cooling measures
• Lakeside Apartments to go up for collective sale again for S$240m