Pine Grove Owners Target 2024 for Collective Sale Relaunch

Pine Grove Owners Target 2024 for Collective Sale Relaunch

Seeking Consensus for a New Tender

The Pine Grove condominium’s collective sale committee is gearing up for a strategic move, aiming to secure an 80 percent mandate from owners to relaunch their collective sale.

This comes after their initial tender in November 2023, tagged at $1.95 billion, closed without attracting any bids.

ERA Realty Network, the marketing agent for Pine Grove, has been engaged in private treaty discussions with several parties since the tender’s closure, aiming to continue negotiations until February 7.

The committee is now considering a lower reserve price of $1.78 billion in a bid to make the sale more appealing to potential buyers.

If the collective sale goes through at $1.78 billion, the gross proceeds could be substantial for individual unit owners.

For example, owners of 1,163 sq ft units might receive about $2.19 million, while those with 1,690 sq ft units could see around $2.69 million, and owners of 1,938 sq ft units could get approximately $2.9 million.

According to Mr. Eugene Lim, the key executive officer of ERA Singapore, the estimated land rate for this sale is $1,335 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

This figure includes the 10 percent bonus gross floor area, an estimated land betterment charge (LBC) for intensification of $974.4 million, and the cost of upgrading the lease to a fresh 99 years.

Assessing Owner Interest at EOGM

An extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) coupled with a signing session is scheduled for January 21, where the owners’ interest in relaunching the 660-unit condominium for sale at the revised price will be assessed.

This meeting follows a communication from ERA Realty Network dated January 18, which highlighted that the new price is considered a “fair valuation” by property valuation firm Premas, a subsidiary of Cushman & Wakefield.

Premas’ valuation takes into account the full redevelopment potential of the 893,218 sq ft site, which could lead to a 2,050-unit development.

Several developers have informally expressed interest in the Pine Grove en bloc sale at this new valuation, sparking the collective sale committee’s efforts to secure the necessary consensus.

The timeline and potential sale details will be presented at the EOGM, which can only proceed if at least 30 percent of the unit owners are present.

Market Context and Challenges

Despite being a prime piece of real estate, Pine Grove’s collective sale efforts have faced challenges due to a combination of factors, including more attractive government land sales (GLS) programme sites, heightened development risks, and a disconnect between the price expectations of developers and collective sale sellers.

Consensus and successful sales have become more difficult to achieve as a result of this mismatch, policy changes that affect floor area definitions, and the ongoing increase in private home prices.

Pine Grove holds a notable place in Singapore’s housing history, being one of the first two HUDC estates to be privatized in 1996.

It stands as the second-largest former HUDC estate, following Braddell View and preceding the former Farrer Court, in terms of land size.

Its successful sale could potentially revitalize the area, adding to the vibrancy and modernization of the Ulu Pandan vicinity.