Braddell View estate forms collective sale committee for third en bloc attempt

Residents of Braddell View, Singapore's largest former HUDC estate, have voted to form a collective sale committee, the first step in a new en bloc attempt. The 99-year leasehold development had two failed attempts in 2019 and one halted attempt in 2021.

SINGAPORE: Braddell View estate has kicked off another en bloc attempt with the formation of a collective sale committee. Over 300 residents attended an extraordinary general meeting on 19 Sep to vote in a council, the committee told CNA. Owners representing about 38 per cent of the condo's voting share were present or represented at the meeting, exceeding the required quorum of 30 per cent. About 94 per cent of those attending approved the formation of the committee.

The 918-unit residential estate, with two additional commercial units, sits on a 1.14 million sq ft plot on Braddell Hill. It is the largest former Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) estate and was the final HUDC estate to be privatised in 2017. The 45-year-old, 99-year leasehold development underwent two failed en bloc attempts in 2019 with the same asking price of S$2.08 billion, receiving no bids in its public tender. A further attempt in 2021 was halted early due to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The en bloc attempt comes after Parliament passed a new law on 8 Sep to lower en bloc thresholds for older developments. Under the new law, the consent threshold for developments aged 40 to 59 years would be lowered from 80 per cent to 70 per cent, and from 80 per cent to 65 per cent for those aged 60 years and above. The threshold to convene a general meeting to form a collective sale committee will be raised, and the timeline to obtain signatures for a collective sale agreement (CSA) will be halved from 12 months to six months. However, the law will take effect only after the president assents to it; the Ministry of Law has not announced a commencement date.

The committee said they started engaging residents on the potential en bloc sale months before the new law was announced. As the estate ages, repair and maintenance costs are starting to add up. For example, repair and repainting works that would have cost about S$1.1 million in the past could now cost at least S$2 million for an estate of its size. “And you look at the demographic of the residents staying here, most of them are actually quite elderly. I don't think any one of them would like to actually pay a lump sum or increase their maintenance fee in order to maintain the estate,” said a committee member.

The committee told CNA that collecting signatures for the CSA will likely start after the law takes effect, as Braddell View is still early in its process. The next steps include appointing a marketing agent and a lawyer and setting the reserve price, which could take a few months. The committee said the new rules – along with the removal of the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners to buy HDB resale flats – would “help” more than “harm” them. However, the new six-month timeline to collect signatures is a concern. “But it is also fair for people who don't want to constantly be going through this cycle of people asking you to come and sign CSAs. So we think it is a tight timeline, and we have to be very fair to everybody on both sides to make sure that we're representing everybody's interests,” a member said.

Those who oppose selling include owners who have recently moved in or those who have sentimental attachment to their home, the committee said. A member pointed out that many residents understand the government's intention to better optimise land, adding that with the North-South Corridor in place and the whole estate rejuvenated, the area could become nicer. Analysts previously said that about 2,600 new homes may be built on the site if sold. “I think maybe we're just waiting for that 'dong feng',” said the committee member, using the Mandarin term for east wind, which symbolises a favourable condition. “Everything is … quite in place already.”