Laguna Park Clears Hurdle

Source : The Business Times, December 15, 2008

APPROVAL for an enbloc sale by owners of Laguna Park apartments crossed the 80 per cent threshold on Friday, Channel News Asia reported yesterday. This allows the owners of the 30-year-old condominium to proceed to market the site, which has a total land area of about 667,000 sq ft.

The asking price is $1.2 billion - or $1.8 million to $2.3 million per unit, down from the more than $3 million some owners were hoping for last year.

The move to sell started in early 2007 but hit a snag as some residents held back in the hope that the bull market would last, CNA reported. Most of the development's 528 units are between 1,500 and 1,700 square feet.

Figures from property consultancy group CB Richard Ellis released last week show that only seven collective sales worth a total $371 million have been sealed this year, against the record $12.4 billion from 111 transactions in 2007. The collective sales market was dormant this year as developers remained mindful of the lukewarm response to new residential launches, rising construction costs and tighter credit measures, CBRE observed.