The results of the first two state tenders that closed on Tuesday after new cooling measures were introduced indicated that developers are still land hungry but more cautious.
Eight bidders had vied for a 99-year leasehold residential site at Jalan Tembusu near the East Coast, and their keen interest helped set a new high in land rates for a residential government land sales (GLS) site in the city fringe area, PropNex said.
But developers were mostly cautious on another leasehold residential site at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel A) near Yio Chu Kang, which drew just four bids.
A unit of City Developments (CDL) came out tops with a bid of $768 million or $1,302 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the Jalan Tembusu site.
This topped the previous record land rate in the city fringe area at $1,129 psf ppr for a site at Northumberland Road, which was awarded in May 2021, PropNex Realty head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said.
Mr Sherman Kwek, CDL group chief executive, said that the Jalan Tembusu GLS site could bolster CDL’s development inventory by over 600 units.
“While there will be some headwinds on the back of the property cooling measures, we believe that the market remains well-supported by an improving job market and strong household balance sheets,” he said.
CDL said that if it wins the award, a residential project comprising four blocks of 20 to 21 storeys with a total of about 640 residential units, could be built. The project will enjoy sea views and unobstructed views of the CBD skyline and the Singapore Sports Hub.
Ms Wong noted that CDL’s bid is about 8 per cent higher than the second highest bid at $712.6 million.
But the $768 million bid is 67 per cent higher than the eighth bid at $460 million ($780 psf ppr), “probably indicating that some developers moderated their bids to reflect potential risks from the new cooling measures”, she said.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA, attributed the keen interest to the perception that the future project “may not face much competition when it is launched.”
Read more at: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/cdl-bids-768m-for-jalan-tembusu-site-in-state-land-sale-consortium-bids-5866m-for-lentor-hills-site
