By Fiona Chan

THE owners of a site off Bukit Timah Road are trying again for a collective sale - but after slashing the original price by nearly 40 per cent because of the grim market.

They want $58 million to $60 million for Robin Court, a walk-up block of 15 flats, and No. 1 Robin Drive, a detached house that hosts a preschool.

The new price tag for the 40,518 sq ft parcel works out to $964 to $996 per sq ft (psf) of the total potential floor area of about 62,400 sq ft. This is almost 40 per cent below the $1,500 to $1,600 psf they sought during their first sale attempt last year when the property market was buzzing.

Ms Yong Choon Fah, executive director of Credo Real Estate, which is marketing the District 10 site, said Robin Court's majority owners had agreed to sell en bloc before collective sale rules were changed in October. They are re-inking the sale agreement to lower the reserve price. A developer could build 30 high-end apartments of 2,000 sq ft each. The breakeven cost would be $1,470 to $1,500 psf of floor area, estimated Ms Yong.

The site was first put up for sale in November along with Robin Star, a 10-unit apartment block that is not included in the latest sale effort.

Meanwhile, buyers are being sought for two blocks of apartments at Gallop Gables off Farrer Road. Property firm Knight Frank is inviting expressions of interest for the 38 tenanted apartments, which have been kept for investment since completion of the project in 1997.

The properties are owned by Straits Trading. The indicative price is $1,500 psf, which works out to about $4.5 million for each apartment, or $171 million in total.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 24, 2008.