By Timothy Tay/ EdgeProp Singapore|March 6, 2020 10:30 AM SGT 

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) – A two-storey shophouse at 22 Veerasamy Road will go on the block at Edmund Tie’s auction on March 25. The freehold property is priced from $5.08 million and sits on a 1,951 sq ft plot. Thus, the guide price translates to about $2,604 psf on the land area. The property is in the Little India Conservation Area off Serangoon Road in District 8. The conservation shophouse is centrally located and the surrounding area is populated with eateries and amenities. Landmark developments in the vicinity include Tekka Place, the new integrated mall with a 320-unit Citadines serviced residence, as well as Tekka Market and Sim Lim Square. The building is close to three MRT stations. They are the Little India MRT Interchange on the Downtown and North-East Lines as well as Rochor and Jalan Besar on the Downtown Line.

Shophouses in the Little India Conservation Area are highly sought-after by investors. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)

The shophouse at 22 Veerasamy has a total floor area of 3,052 sq ft and the commercial site has a plot ratio of 3.0 under the 2019 Master Plan. Potential uses for the property include restaurant, clinic, vet, childcare centre, commercial school and retail outlet, subject to the relevant approvals. According to Joy Tan, head of auction and sales at Edmund Tie, investors and owner-occupiers view shophouses in Singapore as desirable assets given their rarity as there are only around 7,000 conserved shophouses island-wide.“The Little India Conservation Area is a sought-after district for shophouse investors. This particular shophouse has been given approval for residential and home office use, and it is one of the last few shophouses in the area with this type of approval. Other shophouses in the area are mostly approved for retail usage,” she says. In addition, the shophouse features its own car porch in front of the property while other shophouses nearby have a common five-foot walkway. The second floor of the shophouse is accessible through an external staircase, enabling the top floor to be rented out, says Tan.

The conservation shophouse (centre) has a rare residential approval in the area, and it can be used as a home office. (Picture: Edmund Tie)

Given its zoning, foreigners are eligible to purchase the property and the sale will not incur additional buyer’s stamp duty or seller’s stamp duty. According to Edmund Tie, there will be no GST payable on the transaction. Commenting on the likely impact of the Covid-19 virus outbreak on the local property auction market this year, Tan says retrenchments and salary cuts could affect the mortgage payments of some owners who stretched their financial budgets when purchasing their properties. This could result in more mortgagee sale units going on the block at auctions, she says. She also reckons that rental income would be affected by a fall in overall tenant demand as the number of foreign professionals entering Singapore for employment falls, especially if the Covid-19 virus outbreak takes longer to contain.

“On the owner auction sales side, we will see more serious sellers looking to explore auctions as a mode for a faster way to dispose of their properties. But we also foresee more serious buyers entering the auction sale market with ready cash looking for a big bargain,” says Tan.

#Note: The initial price of the property was $5.2 million, but this has been adjusted to $5.08 million by the auction house – March 9, 2020.

Original Article: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/veerasamy-road-freehold-conservation-shophouse-going-52-mil

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