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Zhang Ying purchased the shophouses at Duxton Road in the Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area
The wife of Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma has bought three adjoining shophouses in Singapore
Zhang Ying, a Singapore citizen, paid about S$45m to S$50m for 70, 71 and 72 Duxton Road, The Business Times understands. The properties are on commercial-zoned sites with 99-year leasehold tenures starting from September 1988, leaving a balance lease term of about 63.5 years.
Occupying a total land area of 3,239 sq ft, the shophouses have three floors and an attic each. They are nearing completion of a major refurbishment exercise.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) gave permission for addition and alteration works to integrate the three shophouses, with change of use from shop to restaurant for the first storey. The upper levels are for office use and the refurbishment includes the addition of a lift.
The total built-up area of the shophouses is said to be about 10,700 sq ft and they are located in the Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area.
Record Price For Duxton Shophouses
The price reported paid by Zhang Ying for the trio of shophouses works out to around S$4,200 to S$4,600 per square foot (psf) on the estimated built-up area.
Market observers view this price range as being on the high side, saying that conservation shophouse deals in the Duxton area have typically not exceeded the S$4,000 psf on built-up area. A point to note, however, is that Zhang Ying bought the shophouses on a newly refurbished basis.
Shophouses For Private Use?
A shophouse investor said: “The Ma family may have intended for the asset to be for their own occupation. (For example), to use it as a private clubhouse to entertain their friends and associates. That said, they could end up leasing the property.”
Transaction History of The Duxton Shophouses
The seller acquired the three adjoining shophouses for a total of S$22.2 million through separate deals in 2018. It bought 70 Duxton Road for S$7.55 million from a company owned by Alan Choe, a former head of the URA and also former chairman of Sentosa Development Corporation.
The seller picked up 71 Duxton Road for S$7.35 million from a doctor, and no 72 for S$7.3 million from Kwek Lee Hoon, the sister of Hong Leong Group executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.
Slowdown in Shophouse Transactions
Transactions in the shophouse market slowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2023.
A report released last month by PropNex Realty based on caveat analysis showed that there were only 15 shophouse sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 – a 60 per cent decline from the 37 deals in Q3 2023.
This was the lowest quarterly sales figure since 2010.
The property agency attributed the muted sales to the soft economic outlook as well as the heightened due diligence after the anti-money laundering blitz in August 2023.
For the whole of 2023, the shophouse market recorded 131 deals amounting to about S$1.14 billion, shrinking from the 2022 tally of 191 deals totalling S$1.63 billion.
This was the slowest annual sales volume since 2019, when 123 shophouses fetched a total of S$916 million, according to caveats data.
(Source: The Business Times)
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