PINE Grove condominium will be put up for collective sale again, this time with plans underway to lower the reserve price by 8.7 per cent to S$1.78 billion, marketing agent ERA said on Monday (Feb 19). 

This comes after the last en bloc attempt closed on Nov 29 with “muted response from developers”, said Marcus Chu, ERA’s chief executive officer. 

An extraordinary general meeting was held on Jan 21 with owners signing a supplementary agreement to lower the reserve price to S$1.78 billion, from the previous reserve price of S$1.95 billion.

The proposed reserve price of S$1.78 billion was earlier found to be a “fair valuation” by Premas, a unit of property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. The assessment included the full potential in redeveloping the massive 893,218 square feet site into a 2,050-unit development.

Currently, more than 60 per cent of owners have signed on the supplemental agreement to lower the reserve price. 

A minimum consensus of 80 per cent from the owners is required for the lower reserve price to be accepted.

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After taking into account an estimated land betterment charge (LBC) of S$975 million for the intensification of land use and lease upgrade, the S$1.78 billion price tag translates to a land rate of about S$1,335 per square foot per plot ratio.

But the estimated LBC may be subject to revision on Mar 1, 2024, since it is currently based on rates from September 2023, ERA noted.

Located off Ulu Pandan Road, the 660-unit development sits on a massive site with a plot ratio of 2.1. The former Housing and Development Company (HUDC) estate was completed in 1984 and has 59 years left on a 99-year lease. 

This is the fifth collective sale attempt for Pine Grove since 2008. The three most recent attempts were set at S$1.95 billion in 2023; S$1.86 billion in 2019; and S$1.7 billion in 2011. Another attempt in 2008 failed to get the consensus required. 

But the fifth time could be the charm for Pine Grove. The 8.7 per cent price cut to S$1.78 billion presents a “compelling opportunity” for developers and investors looking to acquire a development site in the vicinity of Dover MRT station, said ERA’s Chu. 

“The recently revised Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty remission clawback for residential projects offers respite to developers who are unable to fully sell the new units within five years, a positive development for large collective sale sites like Pine Grove,” he added.

The tender for Pine Grove will open on Mar 6 and close at 3 pm on May 5.