Sinaran Drive site for sale after bid commitment

Property
Published June 20, 2006


Sinaran Drive site for sale after bid commitment

By ARTHUR SIM



A RESIDENTIAL redevelopment site in Sinaran Drive that was put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales programme nine months ago is being offered for sale after an unnamed developer committed two weeks ago to bid $173.8 million.


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Newton One: Selling at $1,230-$1,420 psf


The plot, near Novena MRT Station, is 1.25 hectares and can be built up to a maximum gross floor area of 43,639 sq m (469,725 sq ft).

Jones Lang LaSalle's regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt reckons developers could bid bullishly as the Novena area is seeing upside from healthy prices in the nearby Orchard Road area.

As such, bids for the Sinaran Drive site could hit $500 per sq ft per plot ratio or $235 million.

Mr Lui believes the 99-year leasehold site could be a good hedge against the high prices that developers paid for prime Orchard Road sites recently.

A top-end bid of $500 psf ppr would mean a breakeven cost of about $900 psf.

This is high compared with other 99-year leasehold sites sold in the past year.

CapitaLand's CRL Realty and Indonesia's Lippo Group International paid $180 million, or about $350 psf ppr, for a site next to Redhill MRT Station, while a site near Tanah Merah MRT Station went to an NTUC Choice Homes/Wing Tai tie-up for $210 million, or $318.50 psf ppr.

Closer to Novena, however, freehold Newton One, by Lippo Group is said to be selling at $1,230-$1,420 psf.