UOL, UIC acquire Raintree Gardens for $334.2m

More than 80% of owners consented to the en bloc sale.

UOL Group Ltd. and United Industrial Corporation Ltd. (UIC)'s joint venture company UVD (Projects) Pte. Ltd. has successfully won the public tender for Raintree Gardens, the 175-unit development located at Potong Pasir.

According to JLL's announcement, UVD nabbed the ite for $334.2 million., with more than 80% of the owners giving consent to the en bloc sale.

Raintree Gardens comprises 12-storey mansionette blocks and one 7-storey mansionette block. It was built by Housing and Urban Development Company of the Housing Development Board in 1980's. It was eventually privatised in 2014.

Director and Head of Residential at JLL Karamjit Singh said the sale of Raintree Gardens brought the total value of successful en bloc sales in Singapore this year to $1 billion, with it being the third sale for the year.

"The collective sale market is slowly turning a corner. The pick up in collective sale activity is due to a combination of three factors: the switch in the outlook of the residential market from negative to neutral-positive, the shortage of development sites – whether from the government or private sector, and the strong attributes and realistic pricing of the developments that were sold this year," Singh said.

However, he noted that this year's $1 billion worth of successful collective sales pales in comparison with 2010 to 2013, when the average annual value of successful deals averaged $1.88 billion.