Two more residential sites open for tender

THE roll-out of land in response to high demand for homes has continued, with the Government launching public tenders for two more sites yesterday.

Both residential development sites - in Hougang Avenue 2 and Upper Serangoon Road - are 99-year leasehold plots.

The Upper Serangoon site, in Pheng Geck Avenue, is on the Government's confirmed list. These sites are scheduled for tender without developers having to first indicate interest.

The Hougang site, however, is on the reserve list but is up for sale after a developer lodged an acceptable offer of $109.9 million. It is suitable for a low-density condominium, flats or landed housing.

Reserve list sites are offered on top of those on the confirmed list and are triggered for tender if at least one developer lodges an initial bid that meets a minimum threshold.

The Government has sold four residential sites with the potential to yield 1,710 units under the confirmed list since the start of the year.

Tenders are ongoing for another four sites on the confirmed list, including the Upper Serangoon site, which will close in the next two months. In total, these could yield another 1,215 units, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said.

Another 10 sites with the potential to yield 4,280 units are still available for sale on the reserve list of the first half of this year's government land sales programme, it added.

Real estate consultancy CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that with the Upper Serangoon site just a stone's throw away from the Potong Pasir MRT station and the Central Business District just a 10-minute drive away, it would be popular with both home buyers and developers.

He expects the site to attract about 10 bids with a land price of around $84 million to $94 million, equating to $450 to $500 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio.

'Based on caveats lodged in the last six months, units in Woodsville 28 and 8@Woodleigh, which are new condominium developments in its immediate neighbourhood with 99-year leasehold tenure, were sold at between $885 psf and $1,130 psf in the sub-sale markets.

'Therefore, units in the subject site may be able to fetch $950 psf to $1,000 psf on the average by the time they are launched,' Mr Li said.

The tenders for the Hougang and Upper Serangoon sites close on May 20 and June 2 respectively.

Source: Straits Times, 21 Apr 2010