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A freehold shophouse along Kitchener Road in Farrer Park has been sold for S$8 million -- just slightly more than five months after it was bought for S$4.3 million -- netting a profit of S$3.7 million for the seller.

The flipping of the unit and changing of hands of its ownership was reported by Edgeprop.

Timeline of transactions

The company, Pack Wan, created on Aug. 14, 2021, purchased the property at 147 Kitchener Road some time in January 2022.

The transacted price then was pegged at the S$4.3 million valuation in August 2021.

A caveat lodged on July 1, 2022 showed the conservation shophouse at 147 Kitchener Road changed hands again, registering an 86 per cent capital gain for the seller.

The conserved shophouse was built sometime in the 1920s and is located in a row of similar shophouses facing the 910-unit City Square Residences and City Square Mall, which is linked underground to the Farrer Park MRT station.

Shophouse was to be held for the long term

The shareholders of the Pack Wan company are Aaron Wan, PropNex senior group district director, and his wife.

Wan declined to comment on the sale of the property when contacted, according to Edgeprop.

Edgeprop reported that Wan had intended to renovate the shophouse and hold it as a long-term investment after buying it with his wife.

Wan had commented in 2021 that he would only consider selling the shophouse if he received “an offer of around S$8 million”, it was also reported.

Occupying the first floor of the shophouse since January 2022 is Sans Laksa, a relatively new F&B tenant serving traditional steamboat fare.

The eatery is said to have signed a long-term lease with the landlord.

The second floor of the shophouse has been renovated and leased as an office space.

New owner: Hakka association

The latest owner of the conservation shophouse is Eng Teng Association, which was founded in Singapore in 1916, according to Edgeprop.

The association is one of the most established Hakka associations set up in China over a century ago to provide assistance to new immigrants from Tingzhou prefecture, Fujian province.

Eng Teng Association was located at the double-storey conservation shophouse at 132 Neil Road since 1918.

The association owned three shophouses at 128, 130 and 132 Neil Road, which are part of a row of five located in the Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area.

At the end of May 2021, Eng Teng Association sold the two shophouses at 130 and 132 Neil Road for S$22.5 million.

The shophouse at 128 Neil Road was then sold for S$10.5 million.

The divestment of the three shophouses on Neil Road yielded a total of S$33 million for the association.

The amount is more than sufficient to purchase the shophouse at 147 Kitchener Road for S$8 million.

Top photo via Google Maps