As reported earlier by the Union-Tribune, the mediation process began after several homeowners holding 10 flats approached the Strata Titles Board (STB) to object to the collective sale of the project.
After three rounds of mediation sessions, the six owners of one flat each did not withdraw their objections and the Strata Titles Board issued a moratorium on the sale of the project on Friday (Dec 9).
One of the owners, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Lianhe Zaobao newspaper that the sale en bloc committee, which represents the majority of the owners, must apply to the High Court for a sale order within 14 days of the stop-sale order being issued, although they, the nail households, could still raise objections.
Chuan Park in Lorong Chuen was sold by private treaty to a consortium of Kingsford Development and MCC Land in July this year for $890 million.
Chuan Park is a 99-year leasehold project with 444 residential units and two commercial units.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Layout Plan for the development in 2019, the project covers a site area of 400,000 and 588 square feet, with a total plot ratio of 2.1 and a gross floor area of up to 841,236 square feet.
Upon completion of the transaction, each household will receive approximately $1.16 million to $2.53 million. The homeowners, who hold a total of 10 units, believe that the collective sale price and the calculation of the proceeds from each unit are unreasonable, and have in turn raised objections to the Strata Titles Board.
They also felt that there was a lack of clear communication between the sale committee and the ERA, the real estate consultancy that facilitated the transaction, and the owners before the transaction.
According to the documents they submitted to the authorities, Chuan Park had a maximum gross floor area of 89,824 square metres (966,857 square feet), equivalent to a plot ratio of 2.4, when the last round of the sale was conducted in 2017.
However, this round of collective sales is priced at a plot ratio of 2.1, with 13% less gross floor area than in 2017.
According to sources, one of the homeowners who withdrew his objection only changed his mind midway through the round because he was worried that he would not stand much chance of winning if he went to court.
When asked, Sidney Lee, Senior Head of Research at Hopedan Group, said, "It has been unusual over the years for collective sales projects to be issued with stop-sale orders by the Strata Titles Authority, and homeowners' objections are usually resolved through mediation sessions."
The Wilshire, Katong Park Towers, Cairnhill Mansions, City Towers, Brookvale Park and Goodluck Garden were among the six projects that received stop-sale orders during the 2018 sales boom. Goodluck Garden. All of these projects were eventually approved for sale after a High Court hearing.
