A three-and-a-half-storey shophouse at 93 Tanjong Pagar Road was sold for S$13.25 million last week, PropNex Realty has announced.
The 99-year tenure property sits on a land area of 1,297 sq ft and has an estimated floor area of 4,180 sq ft.
PropNex said there were multiple offers for this property about 600m from Keong Saik Road, which has been buzzing with conservation shophouse deals this year. The Business Times reported last week that 3 adjoining freehold shophouses at the prominent corner of Kreta Ayer and Keong Saik roads, were transacted at slightly above S$44 million.
Shophouse deals brought in S$471 million in the first quarter of this year, up 29 per cent year on year, according to PropNex’s quarterly report. The sale at 93 Tanjong Pagar Road is not captured in the Q1 figures.
URA Realis caveats data showed 51 shophouse transactions in Q1 2022, but the actual figure is likely to be higher as some caveats were not lodged by buyers, Propnex said in its report.
Based on caveats lodged, the most valuable transaction during the quarter was the S$74.8 million acquisition of Hotel Clover along Jalan Sultan, reflecting a unit price of S$4,921 psf on land area. This comprises a row of 17 conservation shophouses and marks the most expensive deal of all time in terms of price quantum.
The last record was for the sale of Porcelain Hotel for S$64.8 million in March 2018.
Based on their unit prices, shophouse values in Singapore’s hotspots, such as Districts 1, 2, 7, 8, 14 and 15, rose by varying degrees during the quarter. For example, freehold and 999-year leasehold shophouses in Districts 7 and 8 logged the largest quarterly increase of 23.3 per cent.
Prices for shophouses in the rest of the country contracted by nearly 36 per cent quarter on quarter.
“Capital appreciation for shophouses will remain firm as investors compete for the limited supply of properties available for sale, and with more owners reviewing their asking prices, especially for those in prime districts,” Propnex researchers said.
About 31 per cent, or 16 out of the 51 transactions in Q1 2022, were priced between S$5 million and S$10 million, up from 13 transacted in the previous quarter. There were 14 transactions over S$10 million in the quarter, down from 18 such deals in Q4 2021.
The rental market remained muted in the first quarter, in part due to the festive season, the researchers said; 881 rental contracts were signed, down from 892 in the previous quarter, while total rental value slipped to S$8.11 million from S$8.17 million in Q4 2021.
Despite that, median rentals grew to S$5.38 psf per month from S$5.04 psf per month the previous quarter.
Tenant interest in shophouse spaces located in tourist and nightlife districts is expected to “grow substantially” with the easing of travel restrictions and safe management measures, PropNex said.
Its researchers expect demand for and prices of commercial shophouses to remain strong in the near- to medium-term. As commercial shophouses do not attract additional buyer’s stamp duty and the seller’s stamp duty, they will be popular with family offices and high-net-worth individuals, both from Singapore and abroad, they said.
However, the limited supply of shophouses available for sale is unlikely to meet robust demand, thereby keeping prices elevated this year, they added.
Credit: Business Times
