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DEAL WATCH: Unit at Aalto on the market for $1,600 psf

By Tan Chee Yuen

/ The Edge Property |

October 14, 2016 10:30 AM SGT

A 1,550 sq ft, three-bedroom unit at Aalto has been listed for sale at $2.48 million ($1,600 psf) on TheEdgeProperty.com. The unit is said to be facing the greenery and landed area of Amber Road and Meyer Road, according to Jamie Goh, a property agent with PropNex Realty who is marketing the unit.

The apartment is said to be currently tenanted at a monthly rent of $5,500 with the lease expiring in July 2018. This translates into a gross rental yield of 2.7%. Buyers have the option to purchase the unit with tenant in place or with vacant possession, says Goh. There is an early termination clause in the lease in the event that the buyer decides to purchase with vacant possession.

Monthly rents for three-bedroom units of 1,500 to 1,600 sq ft are generally hovering around $5,455, according to leasing contracts on URA for the past six months (see table).

Aalto is a freehold high-end condominium on Meyer Road that was developed by Hong Leong Holdings

Aalto is a freehold high-end condominium on Meyer Road that was developed by Hong Leong Holdings and completed in 2010. The project is a redevelopment of the former Eastern Mansion, which was purchased en bloc, and an adjacent site. Aalto has twin 27-storey towers and a total of 196 units. The units are three- and four-bedroom apartments sized between 1,442 sq ft and 1,959 sq ft, respectively. There are also two penthouses in the development, the larger of which is a 6,168 sq ft unit on the 26th floor that was sold for $16.8 million ($2,724 psf) in February 2011. The other penthouse of 5,608 sq ft, also on the 26th floor, fetched $16.275 million ($2,902 psf) in March 2008 at the previous peak just before the global financial crisis.

The highest psf price achieved at Aalto was for one of the sub-penthouses on the 25th floor. The 3,940 sq ft unit changed hands for $11.5 million ($2,919 psf) at the last peak in February 2013.

The three most recent transactions at Aalto were for four-bedroom units of 1,959 to 2,024 sq ft, which were sold at $2.9 million ($1,480 psf) to $3.4 million ($1,735 psf) in the months of July to September, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis.

The latest transaction of a three-bedroom unit at Aalto was for a 1,528 sq ft, mid-floor unit, which changed hands for $2.55 million ($1,668 psf) in July. The other three transactions of three-bedroom apartments at Aalto earlier this year were also of similar-sized units. They were sold at prices ranging from $2.3 million ($1,505 psf) to $2.57 million ($1,681 psf).

The last time a bigger three-bedroom unit (1,550 sq ft) changed hands was in November last year, when a unit on the 20th floor was sold for $2.73 million ($1,761 psf), according to a caveat lodged then.

In the future, homebuyers can look forward to the Tanjong Katong MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line that is expected to open in 2023.

For more information, call marketing agent Jamie Goh at 9025 6772.