This Cairnhill Condo Failed To Sell En Bloc 3 Times — Now It’s Back On The Market For $168M With A New Plan

Trendale Tower is back on the market with its latest collective sale attempt, now with a guide price of $168 million. It is the first time that the potential redevelopment plans for the 21,709 sq ft plot at 79 Cairnhill Road includes an option for a Serviced Apartment 2 scheme.

This is the fourth time that the owners of the freehold development have attempted a collective sale of the project. A previous attempt in 2023 – at the same guide price of $168 million – ended without a successful buyer.

The development was put up for sale in 2022 with a guide price of $178 million, as well a previous attempt in 2018 that pegged the property at a guide price of $163.5 million. Both attempts ended without a successful buyer.

The previous collective sale attempts coincided with new property cooling measures and heightened development costs that elevated the overall risk profile of enbloc sales by private property developers.

Some market watchers also observed that there was a gap in price expectations between enbloc sellers and property developers, especially after new property cooling measures were rolled out in 2018 and 2021.

The current guide price of $168 million for Trendale Tower, which sits on a 21,709 sq ft site and a gross floor area of approximately 72,691 sq ft, works out to about $2,248 psf per plot ratio (ppr) – and that number factors in the 7% bonus balcony space.

The collective sale attempt this time around comes with a new option – if the site is redeveloped – for the new property to feature a Serviced Apartment 2 (SA2) scheme.

According to Knight Frank Singapore, the sole marketing agent for the collective sale of Trendale Tower, URA has indicated that it would support an Outline Planning Permission for the proposed SA2 use, subject to approvals.

Knight Frank also added that there is a possible remission of Additional Buyer Stamp Duty for Serviced Apartment use.

The housing typology, a long-stay serviced accommodation concept introduced by URA in December 2023, allows investors to retain an entire residential block for recurring income and long-term capital preservation. SA2 residences require tenants to stay a minimum of three months, and sit between longer term rentals and short term hospitality stays.

The scheme was recently used by Royal Group when it unveiled its redevelopment plans for 11 Claymore Road. The developer bought the former bungalow site for $75 million last year. The redeveloped site will feature a long-stay serviced apartment project comprising approximately 100 apartments.

Dayna Ang, Senior Manager at Knight Frank Singapore, says that if Trendale Tower is redeveloped into a new luxury condominium, the project would come to market against a limited pipeline in District 9. She adds: “For investors who would rather hold than sell, URA’s indication of support for a Serviced Apartment 2 scheme allows the entire block to be retained for recurring income”.

The collective sale of Trendale Tower also comes at a time where plans to reposition Newton into a higher-density city fringe residential precinct have been unveiled by the government.

Melvin Chay, Senior Director at Knight Frank Singapore, points out that the master plan for Newton outlines approximately 5,000 new private and public homes over the next decade, and just over 650 have been committed so far.

The roads earmarked for redevelopment include Monks Hill, Newton Circus, and Scotts Road. Find out how the area will evolve, and the plans that have been revealed, in this article.

Two government land sale sites in the vicinity have been awarded so far. Last November, a site along Bukit Timah Road and next to Newton MRT Interchange was awarded to HH Investment, after it put in the top bid of $566.292 million ($1,820 psf ppr).

Thereafter, a site at Peck Hay Road was awarded to City Developments Ltd (CDL) after the developer submitted the top bid of $542.4 million ($1,865 psf ppr) for the plot in June this year.

“Trendale Tower offers incoming purchasers the opportunity to be a first mover in a fast rejuvenating precinct,” says Chay, adding that the option for an SA2 scheme could attract private investors, family offices, hospitality investors and accommodation operators.

“We expect interest from residential developers, from private investors and family offices looking to hold an entire freehold block for wealth preservation and recurring income, and from operators in the growing long-stay serviced accommodation segment,” he says.

The tender for the collective sale of Trendale Tower closes on October 23.

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