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ARDMORE Point, offered for sale through a tender that closed last week, is yet to be awarded - but the owners of Pin Tjoe Court next door are going ahead and putting their homes up for collective sale.

For sale: Based on Pin Tjoe Court's asking price, owners stand to receive about $6 million per apartment

The asking price of $220.9 million reflects a unit land price of $1,432 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) including an estimated $20.6 million development charge (DC). The unit land price is identical to that sought for Ardmore Point.

And the reserve prices of both properties are also said to be similar - at slightly over $1,300 psf ppr.

In fact, CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing both sites, says it is quite likely the same party will emerge as buyer for the two, given that the combined site area of 120,757 sq ft creates an opportunity to build a substantial project - a freehold condo with about 165 units averaging 2,000 sq ft in a prime location.

Both sites are freehold and zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio - the ratio of potential gross floor area to land area - and 36-storey height limit.

'The bigger site area from combining the two plots would give the developer economies of scale as well as design flexibility to develop a more lavish and unique product - a 36-storey development with generous condo facilities, which in turn will be able to command a higher selling price,' says CB Richard Ellis executive director Jeremy Lake.

The new development should have unobstructed views towards Nassim Road and Bukit Timah.

BT understands that the tender for Ardmore Point, which closed last Tuesday, attracted four bids. The top bidder is said to have been Far East Organization with about $196 million or $1,288 psf ppr inclusive of an estimated DC of $22.7 million. This marks a new benchmark price for residential land in Singapore but is still shy of the reserve price set by Ardmore Point's owners.

Market watchers are also not ruling out Wheelock Properties (Singapore) as a contender for both the Ardmore Point and Pin Tjoe Court sites. Last month, Wheelock bought Habitat One across the road for $180 million or $1,228 psf ppr including DC, but its unit land price for that acquisition will be lowered to $1,155 psf ppr if Wheelock is successful in buying a small adjoining strip of state land.

Property market watchers reckon Far East and the other bidders for Ardmore Point will be eyeing Pin Tjoe Court as well and may not commit their best offer for Ardmore Point until the outcome of the Pin Tjoe Court tender is clearer.

Pin Tjoe Court, at 7 Ardmore Park, is on 60,224 sq ft of land and comprises 32 apartments and two penthouses. Owners of 30 units, controlling 88.5 per cent of share values, have agreed to a collective sale, which is being carried out through a tender that closes on Sept 20.

Based on the $220.9 million asking price, the current owners stand to receive about $6 million per apartment, while the penthouses will fetch $12 million each - more than double the values if sold individually.