The Collective Sales Committee (CSC) of the Pandan Valley condominium has set a record en bloc asking price of $2.6 billion. The asking price has set tongues wagging, not only because it is the highest en bloc asking price on record, but also because it comes almost on the heels of the Government’s latest property cooling measures.

The Today newspaper, which first broke the news of the record en bloc asking price of the condominium, said each unit owner would pocket an average of $4.2 million if they succeeded in selling the 623-unit development, which sits on freehold land spanning about 865,000 sq ft.

The previous record en bloc asking price was set by Mandarin Gardens.

https://www.icompareloan.com/resources/siglap-condominium-record-sale-near/

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held in March 2018, the owners of Mandarin Gardens approved a record en bloc asking price of $2.48 billion. The EGM reportedly lasted four hours, as there were mixed views about the en bloc sale of the 99-year-old non landed property, which has a total of 1,006 units and has a land area of 1,073,226 sq ft. The CSC of Mandarin Gardens is currently gathering signatures, to bring on board at least 80 per cent of the owners to agree to the collective sale.

Farrer Court currently holds the record for the most expensive successful en bloc sale. The 838,488 sq ft site was purchased by a CapitaLand-led consortium in 2007, and was subsequently redeveloped into the d’Leedon – a 99-year leasehold condominium with a total of 1,715 units.

Today reported that  more than 300 residents of the Pandan Valley condominium, accounting for 40 per cent of the development’s total share value, attended the Pandan Valley EGM on Saturday to determine the asking price for the en bloc sale. More than 60 per cent of those present voted to set the reserve price for the collective sale at $2.6 billion, another 11 per cent voted for a sale price of $2.86 billion, while 8 per cent voted for a higher selling price of $3 billion.

After the record en bloc asking price of $2.6 billion was set, the Pandan Valley CSC said that it will convene a third EGM by November to vote on how the proceeds from the sale will be distributed prior to gathering signatures from the owners.

https://www.icompareloan.com/en-bloc-sales-process-guide-singapore/

Real estate analysts who spoke to the newspaper were divided on the record en bloc asking price set by the Pandan Valley condominium owners.

“Developers are being picky… They will consider several sites before going for the kill,” said Chris International director Chris Koh, adding that Pandan Valley residents should be ready to receive offers below their reserve price.

“At $2.6 billion, I don’t think one single developer will bid for something so big… In a way, it’s putting a lot of eggs in one basket,” added ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak.

Research head of Savills Singapore, Alan Cheong, said that the asking price for the collective sale was set high to get the owners to consent to the en bloc sale. But it is unclear if developers will bite at such a high asking price in this climate.

In late 2009, when it was mooted that Pandan Valley condominium might be sold en bloc, there was some opposition to the idea. One blog, ‘Pandan Valley – Saving our home‘, was at the forefront of capturing the opposition. The blog said, “most residents (of Pandan Valley) cannot imagine living anywhere better.” Pointing to a Straits Times article which identified Pandan Valley as one of Singapore’s architectural landmarks of Singapore, the blogger asked why some owners are pushing for a collective sale.

“The question in this regard is not why they are doing so, they must have their reasons, however justified or not. The real question is, where are the people who want to stay? Why are our voices not heard more? Why do so few of us attend the Collective Sale EOGMs? Why does no one query the exorbitant cost of organising EOGMs in the first place?

“There is going to be another EOGM at the end of this month. While one does not need to assist the 30% quorum being reached for the meeting to begin – if the meeting goes ahead anyway, those who care should attend to ensure that their interests are recorded, and voices heard. And most importantly, to make sure that the Collective Sales Committee understands that they have a legal duty to act in good faith for all our interests. It is not just the interests of those who wish to sell that the CSC is duty-bound to represent. They need to be made aware of this, and made aware that there are many amongst us who will ensure that they are held to this duty.”

The blogger further faulted owners who want to make a quick buck while dismissing the “legitimate feeling” of long-term residents of the condo as silly nostalgia, and pointed to the many unique qualities of the Pandan Valley condominium.

“

• Pandan Valley is one of the largest condominium complexes in Singapore.
• It is unique in its greenery and preservation of the natural environment – carefully planned architecture ensured that the natural valleys were not destroyed and that the apartments and facilities were created within and around them. In a concrete jungle – it is truly our very own patch of green.
• Apartment sizes are unusually large when compared to many of the new developments. Most new flats are cramped with little living space. As the oldest conominium in Singapore, Pandan Valley had no space constraints – we thus live in large, airy and well-lit units, with attached balconies and/or small gardens.
• We are in a safe middle-class neighbourhood that is not congested with high-rise developments. We have easy access to almost everything important: good schools, NUS, polytechnics, ITE, One North, healthcare institutions (hospitals, polyclinics, dental clinics), markets (Farrer, Ghim Moh, Holland Village, Clementi, Bukit Timah), supermarkets, as well as high-end and low-end eating places. Taxis and buses easily available along the main road, a short bus ride takes you to the Clementi MRT, Dover MRT is walking distance. Orchard Road is only 10 minutes away by car. To say we are well-located would be an understatement.
• Any ‘profit’ made through collective sale could never guarantee us a similarly large or well-located apartment. This is simply fact. Property prices in this holland-ulu pandan area have risen considerably since most of us moved in here. At the same time, average apartment sizes have shrunk. For more money we will thus only get considerably less.
• Laurels Supermarket and Kodak Film Shop have been amongst us for as long as most of us can remember. These small family-owned enterprises depend on PV for their entire livelihood. As they have watched us grow and change, so have we watched them. They are part of the PV family and will be equally affected by a collective sale.”

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