No Sale at First Auction of Seized Properties: All Seven Withdrawn After Reserve Prices Not Met

The two freehold condominium units near the Orchard Road shopping belt were among seven properties put on the block and then withdrawn, after they all failed to meet their reserve prices at the auction held at Knight Frank’s Ocean Financial Centre office. A total of 65 members of the public, including 30 registered bidders, turned up.

At an opening price of S$7.55 million, or S$2,839 per square foot, the 2,659 sq ft four-bedder on the 17th floor at Gramercy Park drew a total of nine bids. Its first counter-offer, a lowball bid at S$4 million, drew laughter from the floor and was immediately rejected. Bids followed at S$4.5 million and rose to their highest at S$6.7 million. When that bid was rejected because it failed to meet the reserve price, several members of the audience gasped in surprise.

The next hotly bid property was a 1,292 sq ft two-bedder with study, which had an opening price of S$3.82 million, or S$2,957 psf, and drew a total of 11 bids. Counter-offers began at S$3.2 million, and the battle for the 21st-storey District 10 unit became a two-way fight between an elderly man and a young woman. The man submitted the highest bid at S$3.75 million, or S$2,902 psf, but again the final bid failed to meet the reserve price and the property was withdrawn.

Two other Gramercy Park apartments, a four-bedder opening at S$7.5 million and a three-bedder opening at S$6.285 million, were withdrawn with no bids. Also withdrawn were two apartments at Sloane Residences in Balmoral Road, which had opening prices of S$3.65 million and S$3.68 million, and a 3,498 sq ft Grade A office at Suntec Tower One with an opening price of S$11.5 million. The office drew one bid at S$8 million.

Tan Tee Khoon, head of auction and sales at Knight Frank, who was appointed by accounting firm Deloitte Singapore to market the properties, said the brokerage will be “seeking instructions from the authorities on what to do with the properties that have been withdrawn and have bids that don’t meet the reserve prices”.

“We also need to get guidance from Deloitte on whether we can proceed with private treaty talks with the bidders, or conduct another round of auctions for the properties,” he added.

Deloitte Singapore was appointed by the Singapore Police Force in 2025 to manage and realise the non-cash assets forfeited in connection with Singapore’s largest money laundering case. The properties were seized during investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department.

When asked if the opening prices of the seven properties were also their reserve prices, Tricia Tan, Knight Frank’s director of auction and sales, declined to comment, saying she could not disclose the reserve prices.

One attendee, who wanted to be known only as Madam Wong, told The Straits Times she was interested in buying one of the Sloane Residences units for her family. But she did not put in a bid, partly because she thought the opening price was too high given the unit’s condition and the likelihood that she would have to spend another S$200,000 on renovation.

During the viewing, she said, she found issues in the apartment. “Part of the marble floor was yellowing because of water damage. The balcony railing was rusted at one end. The microwave and oven were gone. Some doors were off their hinges,” she added.

A total of 26 properties are being put up for sale in September by different realtors. They are the first batch of more than 80 properties going under the hammer as the Government seeks to liquidate assets seized during investigations. All proceeds from the sale of the assets will be paid into the Consolidated Fund, which is analogous to a bank account held by the Government.

Apart from Knight Frank, ETC and SRI were appointed to conduct the property auctions. Selected properties will be marketed by List Sotheby’s International Realty through an expression-of-interest process.

ETC and SRI are putting up a total of 19 other properties for auction on 23 September. ETC’s portfolio comprises eight luxury condominium units plus an 8,800 sq ft factory space at Shun Li Industrial Park. At South Beach Residences in Beach Road, five units, including a 42nd-floor penthouse spanning over 6,700 sq ft, are being marketed at guide prices of between S$4.45 million and S$25.3 million. The two units at 8 Saint Thomas in River Valley are up at guide prices of between S$4.4 million and S$5.72 million, and the sole unit at Paterson Suites in Orchard has a guide price of S$5.18 million. The four-storey corner strata terrace factory at Shun Li Industrial Park in Kaki Bukit has a guide price of S$3.6 million. That auction will be held at ETC’s UIC Building office in Shenton Way.

SRI’s portfolio comprises four luxury condominium units at Wallich Residence and six at Martin Modern, marketed at guide prices of between S$2.238 million and S$6.8 million. That sale will take place at SRI’s Great World City office.