On June 27, the first three lots under the government's land sale program after the introduction of the cooling measures were put up for tender, and the response to private residential lots was lukewarm. This means that the impact of the cooling measures is already visible.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore and the Housing Development Board released the results of the three lot tenders on Tuesday (June 27). The three lots are Marina Garden Lane, a private residential lot on Tampines Road 11 and an executive public relations condominium (EC) lot on Tengah Plantation Circle.
The response to the bidding for the two private residential lots was muted, with the cautious attitude of the developers reflecting that the cooling measures have effectively affected their risk tolerance.
Four bids were received for the Marina Garden Lane lot (pictured below), with the highest bid submitted by a consortium consisting of Xinfeng Properties, Obsidian Properties, and Polarix Cultural & Science Park Investment Private Limited (Polarix Cultural & Science Park Investment Private Limited), at a bid price of S$1.03 billion S$1.03 billion, equivalent to a plot ratio of S$1,402 per square foot, surprisingly 42% higher than the second highest bid, which is also unprecedented in the history of the Singapore Government Land Sales Scheme (GLS) tender.
According to Lan Zhenwen, Director of Industrial Research and Consultancy at Dai Yuxiang, other developers are taking a cautious approach, most likely because they are concerned about the potential impact of the exponentially higher SSD on foreign buyers, and because of the limited facilities and educational resources around the site, developers will also consider whether the site can meet the needs of families buying homes.
The mega mixed-use commercial and residential lot at 11 Tampines Avenue attracted three bids this time. Developers can develop 1,190 residential units and 14,000 square meters of commercial space in this mixed-use project.
A joint venture between UOL, SingLand and CapitaLand Development submitted the highest bid of S$1.21 billion, which works out to S$885 per square foot per plot ratio. This bid was 4.9 percent lower than the highest bid for a private home on Tanah Merah Kechil Link at the end of 2020 during the epidemic, when the market was depressed.
Lan Zhenwen remains optimistic about the eventual demand for homes in the area, as he believes that the presence of several completed HDB flats in the area for several years means that there is potential demand for upgrades. In addition, the mixed-use development on Tampines Avenue 11 is also close to the upcoming Tampines North MRT station, which will provide residents with a variety of amenities, including a hawker center, bus interchange and a people's club.
While there was little interest from developers in the bidding exercise for private residential lots, the executive condominium lot at Plantation Close in Tengah drew a lot of interest from developers.
Plantation Close is located near the Jurong Lake District and is situated between the future Jurong Regional Line's Tengkat Garden MRT station and the Bukit Batok Seri MRT station, and is a 99-year leasehold site that greatly enhances connectivity between residents and the commercial nodes near Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District and Tuas Port. Ultimately, nine bids were received for the lot.
The success of Tengah's first executive condominium project, Copen Grand, has also further strengthened developers' confidence in bidding for this site, according to Lan Chen Wen, who believes that Tengah achieved a sale rate of about 73% on the first day of launch, with the site completely sold out within a month.
The famous Anglo-Chinese Primary School (primary section) will be relocated to Tengah in 2030 and is located within 2km of the site, giving the developer more confidence in the excellent educational resources in the surrounding area.
