In the commercial property sector, shophouses have always been a rare commodity, and recently 3 adjoining units from 77 to 80 Amoy Street, have been put up for sale by York Management. Prices stand at around a total of $64.3 million or approximately $2,700 psf.
Some of the more popular and highly-priced shophouse units are in Chinatown and the surrounding streets up to Tanjong Pagar such as Ann Siang Hill, Pagoda Street, Neil road, Erskine Road and Boat Quay; as well as the Bugis and Beach road areas. Many of these are in the URA Masterplan‘s conservation areas and thus understandably scarce and priced as such. Joo Chiat, Tiong Bahru and Katong shophouses area also rare and in demand while more available and accessible are units in the Little India, Geylang, Bukit Merah and Jalan Besar. There are also more affordable shophouses in other districts which are not in conservation areas such as in Bedok or Upper Paya Lebar, suitable for office and business use.
Considering that recent transactions in the shophouse market hovered around $3,000 to $3,350 psf, these three 3-storey adjoining units coming at $2,700 psf are highly attractive, though if the requirements are for a en-block purchase, the investor will have to think about the overall cost. However, the latter at $64.3 million is still lower than the $66.8 million which the sellers were asking for about a year and a half back.
