BT: Pinetree condo put up for sale 11 Sep 07

[Dan @ 94 777 977]

September 11, 2007
Pinetree condo put up for sale
Indicative price for the 12-year-old freehold site in Balmoral Park
is $140m to $150m By ARTHUR SIM

PINETREE Condominium in Balmoral Park has been put up for sale by
tender with an indicative price of $140 million to $150 million.

The freehold residential redevelopment site in district 10, which is
about 12 years old, was put up for sale through an expression-of-
interest exercise in April last year.

The indicative price then was about $59 million. This represents an
increase in price by about 11/2 times.

More than 80 per cent of the owners have now agreed to the
collective sale.

The block is being marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle, whose regional
director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt said: 'There have not
been many collective sale sites in the exclusive Balmoral Park area
and with the recent hike in development charge, Pinetree
Condominium, which has no development charge, will be an attractive
site for developers to consider.'

Mr Lui said there would be no development charge payable as the
current gross floor area is maximised.

Based on a sale at $140 million, the 41,361-square-foot property,
which can have an estimated gross floor area of up to 66,178 square
feet, will cost about $2,100 per square foot per plot ratio (psf
ppr).

Mr Lui added that the site can be combined with the adjoining landed
properties to form a total potential land area of approximately
68,633 sq ft, which would yield a total combined gross floor area of
109,800 sq ft.

Based on this size, a developer could build a new development
consisting of 70 to 80 luxury apartment units. Mr Lui estimates a
break-even price of about $3,100 psf.

Some benchmark prices in the same area include those of The
Solitaire, which has had a few transactions done above $2,200 psf,
and Orange Grove Residences, which had transactions ranging from
$2,100 to $2,350 psf.