Why did Wing Tai pull out of the Holland Tower en bloc deal

Pine Grove to launch third collective sale at $1.95 bilWing Tai Holdings announced on July 28 that the company, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Wincove Investment, have pulled out of their en bloc purchase of Holland Tower. Citing “non-fulfilment of certain conditions” as the reason for doing so, Wing Tai declined to comment further when contacted.

Holland Tower is a 14-storey apartment block located on 10 Holland Heights, a quiet road just off Queensway in Singapore’s prime District 10. The property sits on a 21,878 sq ft, freehold elevated site with a built-up area of 43,691 sq ft, with just 19 units, mostly 3-bedroom apartments.

There is also a central clubhouse with facilities such as a gym, swimming pool, and playground.

Tengah Plantation Close EC promises a modern and convenient lifestyle to its residents. With its smart living features, residents can enjoy a stress-free living experience. It also provides good connectivity to the rest of Singapore, with public transportation and major roads nearby. With all these features and more, Tengah Plantation Close EC is the perfect place to live.

Under the URA Master Plan 2019, the site is zoned as “Residential” and falls within the Holland Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area, subject to stringent setback conditions such as height and gross floor area (GFA). Additionally, being next to Queensway, a Category 2 road, the site has 15m setback requirement too.

Given the restrictive development controls, it may be difficult for developers to meet their intended development plan for the new project. The $76.3 million transaction price for Holland Tower translates to a land rate of $1,764 psf per plot ratio, and a breakeven cost of $2,800 to $2,900 psf, with an average selling price in the range of $3,200 to $3,300 psf.

Wealthy foreign buyers and Permanent Residents (PRs) tend to gravitate towards such condominiums in the Core Central Region (CCR). However, the government’s latest cooling measures, with additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for foreigners doubling from 30% to 60%, have contributed to a significant drop in the number of non-landed residential properties purchased by foreigners since April.

In fact, Shun Tak Holdings has also backed out of an en bloc purchase, of High Point, following the new cooling measures of Dec 16, 2021. They even forfeited their $1 million tender deposit.

It is believed that Wing Tai has already paid the 5% down payment for Holland Tower and the collective sale committee has already applied to the Strata Title Board to have a sales order issued to the company. However, with Wing Tai’s withdrawal from the deal, it will not proceed with the following 5% payment.

This latest episode at Holland Tower is likely to cast a pall on a collective sale market already in the doldrums. An ideal development for the site would be a boutique luxury condo with predominantly large-format apartments, however it may have been derailed by the site constraints and restrictions.