Property buyer loses $590k suit against agent, ERA in rare case of size disparity

No evidence of misrepresentation by agent on usable floor space: Judge

- Selina Lum

A beauty salon owner bought a commercial unit at D'Leedon condominium for nearly $1.6 million, assuming that the size of the premises was 818 sq ft.

This was based on past transaction history data on two leading property listing portals, as well as a title search, which corroborated the square footage.

However, the usable floor area of the unit turned out to be just 619 sq ft.

The discrepancy arose because of the unique manner in which the lot area is calculated for properties with sloping walls, meaning there is a difference between ceiling and floor areas.

For such properties, the lot area—as set out in the title documents and commercial listing portals—is calculated based on the larger of the two.

In this case, it was the ceiling area that was 818 sq ft.

The buyer, Madam Pan Ying, initially sued five parties over the discrepancy: her real estate agent Jasmine Xu, Ms Xu's agency ERA Realty Network, vendor PLS Holdings, the vendor's real estate agent Eric Kwek, and Mr Kwek's agency PropNex Realty.

The lawsuit was brought in the name of Madam Pan's company, Crystal Beauty, of which she is the sole director and shareholder.

The suit against the vendor was discontinued as the firm has since been struck off, while a confidential settlement was reached with Mr Kwek and PropNex.