(Rewritten)Two neighboring retail units on the third floor of Sim Lim Square will be featured in the next auction by ERA on February 27, with a total guide price of $3.38 million.The larger unit, spanning 958 square feet, will go for a guide price of $2.08 million, equivalent to $2,171 per square feet. Meanwhile, the smaller unit, totaling 570 square feet, has a guide price of $1.28 million, equating to $2,246 per square feet.This is the first time both units have appeared on ERA’s auction listings, and the owner is looking to sell them together or separately. ERA’s assistant vice president of auction and sales, Alison Lee, states that the units have competitive pricing. “They are slightly under the market average to motivate a quick sale,” she says.AdvertisementAccording to EdgeProp Singapore’s analytical tools, retail units at Sim Lim Square have been transacting at an average price of $2,997 per square feet in the past 12 months. The most recent sale recorded was in December 2024, where a ground floor shop measuring 592 square feet was sold for $1.92 million, or $3,241 per square feet.Sim Lim Square is well-known for being a tech hub, with a concentration of electronics and computer parts retailers, as well as other businesses such as eateries and traditional Chinese medicine shops. Both retail units up for sale are currently tenanted, generating an estimated monthly rental income of $4.50 psf. Data gathered by EdgeProp on a rolling 12-month average shows that retail units in the development can yield between $4.20 and $7.30 psf in monthly rental income.The owners of Sim Lim Square put the development up for collective sale in April 2019, with a tender launched at a reserve price of $1.25 billion. Though relaunched in December 2019 at the same price, it did not find a buyer. A second attempt by a collective sale committee formed in 2022 did not materialize. Lee states that a new committee is being assembled to consider the possibility of another collective sale attempt soon.Sim Lim Square was completed in 1987 and is a strata-titled commercial development located on Rochor Canal Road in District 7. It sits on a 78,152 square feet site with a 99-year land tenure from 1983. The complex houses 492 retail and office units spread across six floors and two basement levels. It is conveniently located near the Rochor and Jalan Besar MRT stations, as well as the Bugis MRT Interchange that connects the East-West and Downtown Lines.
Investing in a condo in Singapore holds a lot of potential, but it’s not without its challenges. One of the main factors to consider is the government’s property cooling measures, which have been implemented to maintain a stable real estate market. These measures, such as the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), have been put in place to deter speculative buying and regulate the market. For instance, foreign buyers and those purchasing multiple properties are subject to higher taxes. Although these measures may initially impact the profitability of condo investments, they ultimately contribute to the long-term stability of the market, making investing in a Singapore Condo a safer option in the long run.