Devonshire Road two-storey intermediate terrace house

Two freehold double-storey conservation shophouses located on Beach Road and Devonshire Road will be put up for auction by Colliers International on Oct 29. Both are estate sales. The shophouse on Beach Road is located within the Kampong Glam conservation area, has a land area of 1,381 sq ft and is currently tenanted. Its upper level is accessible via a side staircase. The site has been zoned for “commercial” use under the 2014 Master Plan. The indicative price is $5.1 million.

The Beach Road neighbourhood is being rejuvenated with new, large-scale mixed-use schemes such as DUO and South Beach Development.

According to Grace Ng, deputy managing director of Colliers International, the shophouse rental rate has the potential to exceed $10,000 a month. According to data from Colliers, the current average transacted price for shophouses in the district is approximately $4,700 psf, which is 20% higher than the $3,900 psf achieved in 2013. For instance, a shophouse on Beach Road was sold recently for $4.9 million. The owner purchased it for $2.18 million in 2010, hence, a capital gain of 125% in four years.

Meanwhile, the two-storey intermediate terrace house on Devonshire Road includes an attic, and occupies a land area of 1,045 sq ft. It is currently tenanted and access to the upper level is via a side staircase. The indicative price is $4.4 million. The property is zoned for “residential” use under the 2014 URA Master Plan. Ng says it is ideal for use as a home office, subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

Ng says there are only 16 units of terrace houses along that stretch of Devonshire Road and the last transaction of a unit was in 2007. As such, the property will appeal to both investors and end-users.

This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 647 (Oct 13) of The Edge Singapore.