This freehold Desker Road shophouse is going for $10.5m

A freehold conservation shophouse on Desker Road is on sale with an indicative price of $10.5 million. The commercial property sits on a 1,315 sq ft plot near the junction with Kampong Kapor Road in the Desker Road Conservation Area.

The three-storey shophouse has an estimated gross floor area (GFA) of 3,945 sq ft. Based on the GFA, the indicative price translates to $2,661 psf. The property is exclusively marketed by Colliers, and the shophouse will be sold in a private treaty sale.

Since it is a commercial property, the sale is open to foreigners and corporate entities, without incurring additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD).

Located within the Rochor Planning Area, the shophouse benefits from the large retail catchment at Jalan Besar and Little India. Landmark developments in the vicinity include City Square Mall, Mustafa Centre, and Farrer Park Hospital.

The property is also between two MRT stations, Farrer Park on the North-East Line — which is connected to Farrer Park Hospital — as well as Jalan Besar on the Downtown Line.

The combination of its proximity to two MRT stations, as well as several nearby commercial developments, means that the area tends to benefit from steady retail footfall and retail activity in the day and night.

The conservation shophouse will be sold with existing tenancies and is fully leased. According to Zoe Zhou, director of Capital Markets and Investment Services at Colliers Singapore, the shophouse currently features a diversified tenant mix which offers the new owner immediate income and stable cash flow.

She adds that the property could be repositioned to unlock future value-enhancement opportunities, such as optimising some of its currently under-utilised spaces. "Freehold, fully tenanted corner conservation shophouses in District 08 are tightly held and rarely available," she says.

Recently, this part of the Rochor Planning Area has seen increased investment interest from boutique hospitality operators, co-living providers, and F&B concept brands. Some investors have been acquiring well-located commercial properties and conservation shophouses in this area, in order to capitalise on the district's potential rejuvenation and uplift from nearby new developments.

One of the newest private residential developments in the vicinity is the mixed-use Piccadilly Grand, which is located on Northumberland Road and comprises 407 units. The development is expected to be completed this year.

Meanwhile, URA is expected to release a 41,979 sq ft government land sale plot next to City Square Mall later this year. The site could yield about 135 new homes if it is awarded. In addition, the tender for a cluster of conserved terrace houses on Chitty Road and Veerasamy Road has been launched, and this could be repositioned into new strata terrace houses.

Capitalising on the area's potential, investment activity for attractively priced and well-located properties has been robust. Little India (District 8) has been a hive of activity since last year, with three shophouse transactions in Jalan Besar totalling $36.5 million in September 2025.

The most expensive shophouse transaction in 2H2025 was also from Desker Road, a freehold property on a 6,378 sq ft site which transacted at $36.5 million ($5,723 psf) on Sept 24.

According to a 4Q2025 market report by PropNex Realty, the district led in shophouse sales in 4Q2025, with seven deals worth $46.3 million. For the whole of 2025, District 8 saw a combined sales of $183 million from 24 shophouse deals.

The enduring appeal of heritage assets

Nevertheless, the freehold tenure and scarcity of conservation commercial properties of the shophouse for sale is expected to pique the interest of investors.

There are approximately 6,500 to 7,000 conserved shophouses in Singapore, predominantly in the historic districts of Kampong Glam, Chinatown and Little India.

Due to their conservation status, the scarcity adds to the demand for these heritage assets. With prices supported by scarcity and no ABSD, this asset fits the broader trend of capital flowing into rare conservation assets.

The investment trajectory for these properties also looks positive, with a market report by ERA Singapore in last December predicting shophouse sales could end 2026 with 70 to 80 deals, and a total market sales volume of about $550 million to $650 million.

A cautionary mention for investors is the slew of F&B closures since 2024, which saw a record of over 3,000 closures that year. With some familiar brands already exiting the market this year, it could indicate softening demand for commercial real estate transactions in 2026.

Moreover, the Little India district is known for its eclectic mix of retail, F&B, and lifestyle businesses, buyers would be prudent to factor in tenant mix and potential over concentration risk in this precinct.

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This article was first published in Stackedhomes.