The hot housing market – for private and Housing Board flats – and developers’ need to replenish their land bank look set to ignite demand for government land sale (GLS) sites this year, with two plots in particular standing out from the pack.
A parcel in Lentor Central earmarked for private homes and commercial space on the first storey was released yesterday, with the Urban Redevelopment Authority calling for tenders.
Developers are also expected to make a beeline for a site in Tampines Street 62 put up for tender by the HDB that is slated for an executive condominium (EC).
The two 99-year leasehold plots, which could yield nearly 1,200 units in total, are among four confirmed list sites under the GLS programme for this half of the year.
Confirmed list land goes on the market regardless of demand, while that on the reserve list is put up for tender when a developer makes an offer acceptable to the Government.
The Lentor Central plot and the EC site in Tampines were carried over from the GLS reserve list for the second half of last year, when the market was still struggling to find its feet after a battering from the pandemic.
“Any change in housing supply policy will come in the next GLS programme for the second half of 2021,” said Colliers International research head Tricia Song.
“Developers may prefer GLS as the process is more certain and takes less time, but it will also depend on the location of the sites. Most are expected to be 99-year leasehold and in less populated areas,” she added.
The supply of private housing from confirmed GLS sites has been modestly increased for this half of the year, after being sharply reduced in the second half of last year.
JLL data shows that supply from confirmed parcels fell from 4,335 units in 2018 to 2,875 in 2019 and 1,930 last year.
The Lentor Central site is within the new Lentor Hills estate and near the upcoming Lentor MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line. The 17,279.9 sq m site with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 60,480 sq m could yield about 605 units.
Bidding is set to be highly competitive, given the land’s appeal and limited new supply in the area, said Mr Ong Teck Hui, JLL’s senior director of research and consultancy.
“We expect eight to 12 parties contesting for the site, which could fetch a top bid between $930 and $1,000 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr),” he added.
The parcel in Tampines Street 62, which has a site area of 23,799.2 sq m and a GFA of 59,498 sq m, could accommodate around 590 EC units.
PropNex research and content head Wong Siew Ying expects up to nine bidders, with a projected top offer of between $352 million and $381 million, which translates to about $550 to $595 psf ppr.
The last EC site sold in the area was in Tampines Avenue 10, which was secured with an offer of $434.5 million – at $578 psf ppr – in January 2019, she said.
The 700-unit Parc Central Residences being developed on the land has sold 521 units since its January launch, according to Realis caveats.
Tenders for the two land parcels close at noon on July 22.
source: The Straits Times
