Portfolio of 32 strata office units at Manhattan House sold for $14.79 mil
The units are part of a portfolio of 33 strata office units that were released for sale last October by exclusive advertising and marketing agency ETC. The overview cost was then $24.5 million. The units offered range from 323 sq ft to 850 sq ft. Based upon the total strata area of 19,547 sq ft, the overview price turned out to $1,250 psf.
Manhattan House has an overall of 269 strata office units. The 99-year leasehold building was completed in 1976. It was first put on the market for collective sale in September 2019 for $300 million. In January 2023, a second cumulative sale attempt was made at a reserve rate of $280 million with JLL as the marketing firm. However, there were no takers back then.
The purchasers are likely to be investors, hoping to take a position in the event of an effective en bloc sale of the property in the future. The units on the 3rd ground control 9% of the overall strata location of the building, and 13% of the total share value.
Under the 2019 Master Plan, the 4167.7 sq m (44,861 sq ft) site is zoned “commercial” with a gross plot ratio of 4.7. However, URA has indicated that the site may be rezoned to “housing with retail at first storey”, with a considerable portion of the site allowed for a residential tower of up to 30 storeys with an optimum gross floor location of around 21,000 sq m (226,044 sq ft).
Based upon real property title searches, the purchaser of the strata units is Abwin (HP) Pte Ltd, an entity linked to among the largest used car suppliers in Singapore, which also provides motor financing and hire acquisition.
Located in the CBD fringe, Manhattan House is inside walking range of the Chinatown MRT Interchange Station on the Downtown and North East Lines. It is additionally beside Pearl’s Hill City Park.
Swee Shou Fern, head of investment advisory at ETC, who brokered the sale, claims that the 32 strata office units were bought “for investment”. Nonetheless, she declined to comment on the purchaser.
The workplace units seem to have been sold in two sets, with 16 settled for a total of $7.531 million on June 27, and yet another 16 units on July 4 for $7.262 million.
The commercial property has a 99-year lease with effect from 1969. Therefore, it has 43 continuing years. Based on recent listings, monthly asking rents for units vary from $3.16 psf to $4.02 psf.
A portfolio of 32 strata office units on the 3rd floor of Manhattan House, a 16-storey commercial building on Chin Swee Road. Based on warnings lodged, the 32 units were sold for a total of $14.793 million or an ordinary rate of $783 psf, based upon warnings lodged as of August 5.
