Sale of 4 suburban sites to yield 2,045 private homes

SINGAPORE - FOUR sites located in suburban areas and which can yield 2,045 private homes are being pushed out for sale to meet the continuing strong demand for property away from the city.

Two plots of land, one at Jurong West Street 41 and the other at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, were launched for sale yesterday under the confirmed list.

A third land parcel, also at Jurong West Street 41, was made available for application under the reserve list. Confirmed-list land goes on the market regardless of interest, while reserve-list sites need to be triggered for sale by an acceptable initial offer.

Then there is a commercial and residential site at Yishun Ring Road, which will be launched for sale by public tender on Nov 27.

All four sites will offer 99-year-leasehold homes. Property consultants say that overall, the plots should see moderately keen interest from developers.

In particular the Ang Mo Kio plot, which is expected to yield 680 homes, should be keenly contested, and may see as many as 15 bidders.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty Network, said of the Ang Mo Kio site: "It is an excellent location as it is an established estate, and there have not been any new launches in that locality. It can cater to upgraders and downgraders in the locality."

Ong Kah Seng, director of R'ST Research, noted that the plot is not at the most central location within Ang Mo Kio, but said that its draw is its "quaint neighbourhood" location, surrounded by terraced houses at Horizon Gardens and Horizon Green.

"It will also benefit from the completion of the future Mayflower MRT station, which will link it to the city area and future Caldecott residential enclave. Buyers' interest for this project is thus expected to be encouraging, particularly from those who favour homes in an exclusive, quaint spot instead of homes near a centrally-located, bustling town centre," said Mr Ong.

He expects the 198,890.2-square-feet site - which has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 696,123.6 sq ft - will draw seven to 10 bidders, with the top bid likely to be anywhere from $403.8 million to $452.5 million.

This translates to $580 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) to $650 psf ppr.

The site is also just across the road from one of the top schools in Singapore, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, noted Nicholas Mak, executive director of Research & Consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants.

Mr Mak believes the winning bid for the site will come between $390 million ($560 psf ppr) and $425 million ($611 psf ppr), and that it will draw eight to 15 bidders.

The land parcel at Jurong West launched for sale yesterday should see five to 13 bidders, said the consultants.

Mr Mak noted that it is just opposite the Jurong Lake District, "envisioned by government to be a unique lakeside destination for business and leisure".

It is also within walking distance to Lakeside MRT Station.

He expects the plot to see seven to 13 bidders, with the top offer to be in the range of $364 million ($540 psf ppr) to $391 million ($580 psf ppr). The 240,661.7-sq-ft site, which has a maximum GFA 673,853.1 sq ft, could potentially have 660 homes.

Knight Frank Singapore's senior manager of research Alice Tan noted that the land bid results for this site will serve as a proxy to future land bid prices for the reserved-list plot, which is expected to supply 545 homes. The two sites are just beside each other.

She expects the launched site to draw five to seven bidders and a winning bid of $370.6 million ($550 psf ppr) to $404.3 million ($600 psf ppr).

The Yishun Ring Road mixed-use plot could see three to five bids, said R'ST's Mr Ong. The 95,346.7-sq-ft site with a maximum GFA of 266,970.8 sq ft is expected to yield 160 homes.

"Although Yishun is essentially a far-flung area that has seemingly limited upsides arising from new infrastructures or estate rejuvenation plans, the weakness of this site is mitigated because it is fairly close to Yishun town centre," said Mr Ong.

He added that the site could see interest from HDB upgraders in the locality.

ERA's Mr Lim noted that the plot is the first mixed residential and commercial site released by HDB this year. "The mixed site gives developer the flexibility. Mixed developments have been popular as seen from the successes of those that have been launched in the past."

He added that the area comprises predominantly HDB flats, and the new mixed development will "add live to rejuvenate Yishun".

"The newest condominium launched in Yishun was Skies Miltonia, and it was the top-selling project for the month of October," said Mr Lim.