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reporter2
04-04-13, 16:55
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/archive/friday/premium/singapore/3-sites-845-private-homes-ecs-released-20130329

Published March 29, 2013

3 sites for 845 private homes & ECs released

Analysts say Coronation Road site will be the most coveted and contested because of its rarity and prime location

By ong chor hao


THREE 99-year leasehold sites that can yield about 845 private homes and executive condominiums (ECs) have been released, with one of the plots in Bukit Timah singled out by analysts for its rarity and location.

Yesterday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) released two sites - one at Coronation Road and the other at Woodlands Avenue 5 - under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

It made another site at Jalan Bunga Rampai available for application on the Reserve List.

Most analysts expect the land parcel at Coronation Road to see the strongest demand, with 5-17 bidders, primarily because of a lack of supply of landed sites and its prime location.

The plot, which is about 403,000 square feet and can yield about 140 landed homes, sits within a private landed estate. It is near Nanyang Primary School and Hwa Chong Institution.

"The landed plot at Coronation Road is expected to be highly contested as such sites are a rarity," said Desmond Sim, associate director at CBRE Research, who expects bids in the range of $1,400 per square foot (psf).

Mr Sim noted that the last time a site of a similar size was put up for tender was Binjai Crest in 1996, which yielded 125 strata landed homes.

Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said that even if the design of the homes was "plain vanilla", demand will still be strong.

Lee Lay Keng, head of Singapore research at DTZ, said: "Although there were 22 bids for the last landed GLS site at Almond Ave/Chestnut Ave awarded in December 2011, we do not expect a similar number of bids as this Coronation Road site is bigger and the large quantum required will deter smaller developers from bidding for the site."

However, Ku Swee Yong, CEO of International Property Advisor, cautioned: "The downside is that 99-year leasehold landed properties are, to many Singaporean families, less attractive than freehold landed properties."

Ong Kah Seng, director at R'ST Research, said the latest cooling measures that placed an additional buyer's stamp duty on Singaporeans' purchase of a second home meant buyers will be more stringent in their selection.

For the plot at Woodlands Ave 5, which has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 633,000 sq ft, planners expect it to yield about 590 executive condominiums.

Consultants were mixed in their assessment of the site, expecting 4-8 bids of between $300 and $340 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

A potential dampener highlighted was the limit introduced in January's cooling measures on developers for future EC sale sites from the GLS programme to launch units for sale only 15 months from the award of the sites or after foundation works are completed, whichever is earlier.

But analysts also pointed to the site's longer-term potential as part of the future North Coast Innovation Corridor, targeted as an area of economic growth in the recent Land Use Plan.

The Jalan Bunga Rampai site has a maximum GFA of about 105,000 sq ft and can yield about 115 units. It could see 5-12 bids, consultants say.

SLP's Mr Mak expects offers of $520-575 psf ppr with aggressive bidding if the land parcel is launched for sale, as smaller developers without financial power to compete for bigger plots join in.

R'ST's Mr Ong said: "There is potential for (the) site . . . to be triggered but it is likely to be in the second half of 2013, given there is substantial new supply in the Bartley area."

The tenders for the Coronation Road and Woodlands Ave 5 sites will close on June 20 and May 9, respectively.