BRANDINSIDERWed, Feb 26, 2020
The next ERA auction on February 27 will feature a pair of retail units on the third floor of Sim Lim Square with a combined guide price of $3.38 million.
One of the units, approximately 958 sq ft, is listed at $2.08 million ($2,171 psf), while the smaller unit, roughly 570 sq ft, has a guide price of $1.28 million ($2,246 psf). This will mark the first time both units have appeared on ERA’s auction listings, as they are being sold by the owner.
The units can be bought together or separately, and according to Alison Lee, assistant vice president of auction and sales at ERA, they are competitively priced, slightly below the market average. This is intended to encourage a quick sale.
Sim Lim Square has a reputation as a tech hub and is known for its wide range of electronics and computer retailers. It also houses various other businesses such as eateries and shops selling traditional Chinese medicine.
The two units up for auction are currently tenanted, generating a monthly rental income of about $4.50 psf. Based on a rolling 12-month average, retail units at Sim Lim Square yield between $4.20 and $7.30 psf per month, according to rental data compiled by EdgeProp Singapore.
In April 2019, the owners of Sim Lim Square put the development up for collective sale, with a reserve price of $1.25 billion. In December that year, it was relaunched at the same price but did not find a buyer.
Another attempt to go for a collective sale was made in 2022 by a new collective sale committee, but it did not come to fruition. According to Lee, a new committee is being formed to explore the possibility of another collective sale attempt in the near future.
Built in 1987, Sim Lim Square is a strata-titled commercial development in District 7, with a 99-year land tenure that started in 1983. It comprises 492 retail and office units spread across six floors and two basement levels, and is situated on a 78,152 sq ft site. The Rochor and Jalan Besar MRT Stations on the Downtown Line are within walking distance, and the Bugis MRT Interchange connects the East-West and Downtown Lines.