Freehold Condo Balestier Regency Launched for Collective Sale at $255M — Here’s A Closer Look

The owners of Balestier Regency, at 4 Jalan Ampas in District 12, have launched a collective sale tender for the freehold condominium at a guide price of $255 million. The sale is exclusively marketed by SRI Capital Market.

This is the development’s fourth collective sale attempt. The first, in 2013, did not materialise after failing to secure the 80% owners’ consensus. A second attempt was launched in 2018 at a guide price of $218 million and closed without a successful bid. A third attempt in 2021 again fell through at the consent stage, failing to get the required 80% of owners on board.

The current guide price of $255 million represents a 17% increase compared to the guide price cited in the 2018 collective sale bid.

For the existing 72 owners at Balestier Regency, the guide price of $255 million translates to an average gross payout of roughly $3.54 million per unit.

For context, only two resale transactions have been recorded at Balestier Regency since November 2024. Both units were sold at $1,390 psf, which translates to $1.77 million and $2.08 million, depending on unit size. At the current guide price, the collective sale proceeds represent a premium of 70–100% above what units are currently changing hands for on the open market.

If the development is sold for $255 million, the land rate works out to approximately $1,473 psf per plot ratio (ppr), inclusive of a Land Betterment Charge (LBC) of approximately $381,181 based on March 2026 rates. With the bonus balcony gross floor area (GFA) factored in, the adjusted land rate comes to $1,437 psf ppr. 

The development’s existing plot ratio baseline stands at 2.793, just short of the 2.8 maximum. Thus, the LBC payable is nominal, and developers would not face substantial costs to uplift and redevelop the site to its GFA limit.

About the site

Completed in 1990, Balestier Regency sits on a 61,931 sq ft site, and the 72-unit condo comprises a 10-storey residential block. Units range from about 1,270–1,496 sq ft. 

The site is zoned “Residential” under the latest Master Plan with a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 2.8, translating to a GFA of approximately 173,407 sq ft. Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s planning parameters, the site could be redeveloped into a new 36-storey condo.

The residential block currently occupies roughly two-thirds of the site area, and the remaining space is a small park serving the residents. From what we can see, if the site is sold, the developer could leverage the untapped potential of that currently underbuilt area to yield a substantially denser project than what stands on the site today.

Subject to planning approvals, the site is estimated to support up to 161 new residential units, which is more than double its current unit total.

How does the guide price compare?

Assuming typical development and construction costs, and prevailing profitable margins for new projects, if Balestier Regency is successfully sold and redeveloped, it could command a breakeven price of up to $2,300 psf.

The closest pricing reference in the area is Verticus, a 162-unit freehold development at Jalan Kemaman just off Balestier Road. Launched for sale in May 2021, Verticus is the latest new condo to enter the Balestier corridor in the last five years. At the time, the property market was booming thanks to a strong rebound and recovery after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, and buyers were snapping up new launch units at an unusually aggressive pace.

Verticus moved its 118 new sale units at prices ranging from $1,856 to $2,333 psf, with a median of around $2,132 psf. Six resale units subsequently transacted between $2,064 and $2,387 psf, with a median of about $2,310 psf, above what most buyers paid at launch, which suggests that the project has held up relatively well so far.

The catch is that Verticus launched at what turned out to be peak pricing conditions. A developer building a comparable new condo in Balestier faces different market conditions and sentiment.

The overall take-up rate for a new project in that area would likely need to be more measured about where launch prices could realistically land. The resale transactions recorded at Verticus are useful bellwether, but it was achieved against a backdrop that is unlikely to repeat in the near term.

Meanwhile, recent collective sales in the vicinity include 12 Shan Road, a freehold property in the nearby Novena precinct, that was acquired in 2025 for over $100 million through a joint venture by Weave Living, BlackRock, and Lian Beng Group. The property has since been redeveloped into serviced apartments and is within walking distance of Novena MRT station on the North-South Line. Its District 11 address gives it a locational advantage that Balestier Regency does not have.

The transaction signals institutional appetite for freehold in the broader Novena corridor, though the differences in classification, connectivity, and scale mean it is not a direct benchmark for what a developer might pay at Jalan Ampas. 

What the broader market says

An attribute in the site’s favour is how thin new private residential supply is in District 12. The last new launches in the district were The Orie, a 99-year leasehold project at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, and The Arcady at Boon Keng, a freehold project off Serangoon Road. Both developments are still under construction and will only be completed in the coming years.

While only a handful of units at The Orie are still up for sale, units at either development may already be available on the market as subsale units. There are no other projects at the planning approval stage that would add competing supply within the next three to four years.

That gap is a selling point for any developer pitching a new launch here. And the fact that Verticus, despite launching at the height of a market cycle, was fully sold without distress in the resale market, is some evidence that there are buyers still on the hunt in Balestier.

“Developer interest is expected to remain robust, supported by favourable market dynamics,” says Low Choon Sin, Managing Partner of SRI Capital Market.

He points to a Government Land Sales (GLS) site at Kallang Close was recently awarded at $1,415 psf ppr, while GLS sites across the Rest of Central Region (RCR) have achieved benchmark prices of up to $1,556 psf ppr – referring the Dover Drive site that closed last month.

The strong developer participation in recent GLS tenders underscores continued market confidence, says Low.

The future buyer’s case

Balestier Regency sits off Balestier Road, a precinct that has been gradually shifting from its traditional shophouse character toward a more mixed-use residential corridor, with the broader Novena precinct a short drive away.

Novena and Toa Payoh MRT stations on the North-South Line are the nearest rail options, though neither is within walking distance of Jalan Ampas. The Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and Central Expressway (CTE) place the central business district and Orchard Road about a 15-minute drive away. The upcoming North-South Expressway (NSE) is also expected to add a further option when complete.

Hong Wen School, a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) primary school, and St. Joseph’s Institution Junior are within one kilometre of the site, qualifying residents of any future development for priority balloting at the P1 registration stage. 

A future project here would likely draw HDB upgraders from Toa Payoh, Bishan, and Whampoa, as well as buyers seeking freehold tenure in a central location at price points below what prime districts demand. How well the market absorbs a future project here will depend on the eventual price set by a developer, and whether the Balestier address can sustain the kind of premium that the land cost requires.

The public tender for the collective sale of Balestier Regency closes on July 9.