http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...tions-20121207
Published December 07, 2012
Top bid for Punggol EC site beats expectations
Record $350.87 psf ppr bid by Sing Hldgs is 8% higher than nearest offer
By zeinab yusuf saiwalla
PUNGGOL'S latest executive condominium (EC) site drew a record bid of $350.87 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) or $162.1 million for EC developments in the area.
Submitted by Sing Holdings Ltd, the top bid exceeded market expectations and it was also about $13.18 million or 8 per cent higher than the second highest offer of $322.34 psf ppr from JBE Holdings.
The site, located at the junction of Punggol Field Walk and Punggol East, received a total of seven bids from seasoned developers including Frasers Centrepoint unit FCL Place Pte Ltd ($311.14 psf ppr) and Chip Eng Seng's CEL Property ($300.44 psf ppr).
Property consultants BT spoke to were surprised at the high bids offered for the site considering it is located away from Punggol MRT station and the town centre.
In earlier transactions this year, an EC site at Punggol Way/Punggol Walk had fetched $314 psf ppr while the Waterbay EC site fetched $320 psf ppr.
Both these sites are about 700 to 800 metres from Punggol MRT station and the town centre, while yesterday's site is more than two kilometres away, notwithstanding the availability of LRT links.
According to Ong Teck Hui, Jones Lang LaSalle's national director, research and consultancy, this better than expected results could be due to a general upbeat sentiment among developers. "Optimism in the EC sales market has led to increased interest in EC sites among developers and a willingness to bid more enthusiastically for them."
Lee Sze Hao, chief executive officer of Sing Holdings, for whom this will be his first EC project, believes that the site's location next to the Punggol Reservoir is a distinctive quality that deserved such a bid.
"We do not tender all the time but when we choose to tender, the site must have attributes which are differentiating and in this case it is the unique waterfront living concept," said Mr Lee.
The 99-year leasehold site, which sits on 153,999 sq ft of land and had a maximum gross floor area of about 461,997 sq ft, is expected to yield 435 units. According to Mr Lee, Sing Holdings plans to develop six blocks of 17-storey buildings, complete with full condominium facilities.