THE tender for the collective sale of Eunosville which closed on Wednesday is understood to have drawn strong bids, with the highest crossing S$900 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).
Those who bid are said to have included MCL Land, Qingjian Realty, Sim Lian, Keppel Land, City Developments, Chip Eng Seng and OUE. MCL Land, a unit of Hongkong Land, was tipped by several sources as the frontrunner with a price of S$920 psf ppr.
OrangTee, the marketing agent for Eunosville's collective sale, declined to comment when contacted on Wednesday night.
A seasoned property consultant estimated that a price of S$920 psf ppr, inclusive of the estimated lease upgrading premium that the site's developer will have to pay to top up the site's lease to 99 years as well as differential premium for intensification of the site to a gross plot ratio (ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area) of 2.8, would translate to a bid price of about S$770 million for the Eunosville site.
This would be an average price of about S$2.3 million per unit for the owners of Eunosville.
The development consists of six maisonette blocks of 255 maisonettes and four walk-up apartment blocks with 75 apartments. It was built in the late 1980s.
The 376,713 sq ft site has a remaining lease term of about 70 years.
When the tender was launched in April, OrangeTee had stated the asking price was S$643 million to S$653 million - or S$780-790 psf ppr, based on an expected S$181 million payable to the state for the lease upgrading premium and differential premium.
Industry observers suggested yesterday evening that after making a strong top bid for the site, the successful bidder can expect to pay a higher lease upgrading premium than originally expected to the state.
The developer will also have to race quickly to try and obtain provisional permission for a redevelopment scheme and lock in the differential premium quantum payable to the state before Sept 1 when development charge rates are revised.
Eunosville's en bloc sale may be awarded as early as Thursday.
Last week, the en bloc sale of Rio Casa, a former HUDC estate in Hougang, was sealed at S$575 million or about S$706 psf ppr.
The buyer is a consortium comprising Oxley Holdings, KSH Holdings, Lian Beng Group and the private investment firm of Super Group's Teo family.