Sengkang EC site triggered for public tender

An unnamed developer has undertaken to bid at least S$255m or S$460.80 psf ppr at tender

Thu, Jul 26, 2018


AMID the crunch of executive condo (EC) units, a site in Sengkang designated for this public-private hybrid housing type has been triggered for launch from the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

This follows a successful application by an unnamed developer to bid at least S$255 million or S$460.80 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) at tender for the 1.71 ha site along Anchorvale Crescent near Cheng Lim LRT Station and Sengkang MRT Station.

Some property consultants expect robust demand for the site at the public tender, notwithstanding the recent cooling measures unveiled on July 5. They highlighted that no additional buyer's stamp duty is payable by purchasers of new EC units since they are not allowed to own any other residential properties. Moreover, demand for new EC units has been strong over the past year.

ECs cater to the sandwiched class of home buyers - households whose monthly incomes are too high to qualify them to buy a new public housing flat but who find a private home purchase out of reach.

The Housing & Development Board, acting as the state land sales agent for the Anchorvale Crescent site, said on Wednesday evening that it will launch the public tender for the land parcel in about three weeks. The tender period for the land parcel will be about five weeks.

The land parcel was first made available for application on the reserve list of the first-half 2018 GLS Programme on June 28 this year.

ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak predicts that the Anchorvale Crescent plot could attract 11 to 18 bids at tender, with the highest bid coming in at S$257 million to S$305 million (about S$465 psf ppr to S$551 psf ppr).

Huttons Asia's head of research Lee Sze Teck expects eight to 12 bids for the site, with the highest offer likely to be around S$470-520 psf ppr.

The last EC tender closing was in February this year, for a plot along Sumang Walk in the Punggol area which drew 17 bids; the winning bid was S$583 psf ppr - a record for EC land. The Sumang Walk site was the only EC site offered in the GLS Programme for the whole of 2017.

At the time, analysts said that they expected the project on the site to go on the market in second-half 2019 at an average price of at least S$1,100 psf. This would surpass the record price for a new EC launch, of an average S$965 psf, for Rivercove Residences in Sengkang. The project was launched in April and achieved brisk sales.

Mr Mak noted that the Anchorvale Crescent site was made available for application only about a month ago.

"A developer has successfully applied to the government to have this site launched for sale by tender while it is still fresh on the shelf. This could indicate that some developers think that in light of the latest government intervention in the property market on July 5, EC units will probably still enjoy strong demand."

"Due to the strong buying demand and shortage of EC units in the past year, an EC project may be considered to be a 'safer bet' than private housing among some developers. Moreover, owing to the limited supply of EC sites and brisk sales at Rivercove Residences, this tender could draw strong interest from many developers," he added.

Mr Lee of Huttons, however, said that while demand for the Anchorvale Crescent plot is likely to be robust, the number of bids and the winning bid will probably come in lower than that for the Sumang Walk tender. "Some developers may want to take a wait-and-see attitude after the cooling measures. This is the first site to be triggered from the GLS reserve list after the cooling measures."

Two more EC sites are on offer this year. One is a plot near Canberra MRT Station in the Sembawang area. The tender for the site was launched last month and is due to close in September. In October, an EC site in Tampines is slated to be launched. Both plots are on the confirmed list, where sites are launched according to schedule, regardless of market demand.

Reserve list sites, on the other hand, are launched for tender only upon successful application by a developer, with an undertaking of a minimum bid price that is acceptable to the state.

The Anchorvale Crescent EC site is close to amenities such as Sengkang General Hospital, Sengkang Community Hospital, Sengkang Community Club and Compass One Mall. The authorities have stipulated a maximum of 550 residential units for this site.