CBD building up for sale, 2 URA tenders launched

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Published June 22, 2011

CBD building up for sale, 2 URA tenders launched

Tenders are for plots for condos in Potong Pasir, landed housing in Serangoon Gdns

By NICHOLAS YEO


AT least three opportunities for those seeking property investments here were rolled out yesterday.

Within the central business district (CBD), SEB Investment put up 77 Robinson Road, a 35-storey commercial building, for sale. And the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched tenders for two 99-year leasehold private residential sites: a condo plot next to Potong Pasir MRT Station, and a plum landed housing plot at Serangoon Garden Way.

SEB Investment has appointed Colliers International to conduct an expression of interest to sell 77 Robinson Road through an exercise which will close on Aug 3. The office tower is on a 32,435 square foot site with a remaining lease of 82 years. Colliers noted that the most recent office tower transaction in Singapore's CBD was that of Capital Square for $2,300 per square foot of net lettable area. Assuming 77 Robinson Road, which has a net lettable area of 294,895 sq ft, fetches the same price, the deal would amount to $678 million.

The building is currently 92 per cent leased to MNC tenants such as Adidas, Dentsu and Rabobank Group. Under Master Plan 2008, the site is zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 11.2+.

'With Grade A office rents currently 45.7 per cent below the previous peak in Q1 2008, it is predicted that rents for the whole of 2011 will continue to enjoy an expansionary mode, supporting a 15-20 per cent growth,' said Tang Wei Ling, executive director for investment services at Colliers International.

Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui expects the condo plot at Pheng Geck Avenue next to Potong Pasir MRT Station to fetch top bids in the range of $500-600 psf per plot ratio (ppr) with about 5-8 bidders participating. URA data on developers' monthly sales shows that 16 units at Nin Residence next door were transacted last month at a median price of $1,152 psf. Qingdao Construction clinched the Nin Residence plot in June 2010 for $607 psf ppr.

URA has designated the latest site for development into condominiums, flats or serviced apartments. The land parcel can potentially yield 330 housing units.

Said Mr Ong: 'Bidders for the site are likely to be more cautious in view of the growing supply from earlier Government Land Sales (GLS) tenders and possible impacts arising from the HDB market, such as the income ceiling revision and increased supply of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats.'

Further north is the landed housing parcel at Serangoon Garden Way, with an area of 305,711 sq ft. URA has stipulated that strata landed housing will not be allowed for this plot, which can yield about 80 homes of up to two storeys. The developer is expected to master develop the site, in compliance with development control guidelines.

SLP International executive director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak expects the winning bid to be about $480-520 psf of land area in today's market. The tender could attract 6-12 bidders, he said.

Mr Mak noted that, recently, the average transacted prices for semi-detached and terrace houses in Serangoon Garden Estate in H1 2011 were about $1,001 and $1,028 psf of land area respectively.

Credo's Mr Ong said: 'The main attraction is its location, which is popular with landed property buyers.' He added, however, that 'the site has its drawbacks - being just next to the Central Expressway and limited to a building height of two storeys'.

He believes these factors will affect unit selling prices and tender bids. 'Nevertheless as the market has been 'starved' of landed housing sites, and with this location, we're likely to see fair interest in this site,' he said. 'The total land price could be above $100 million or $320 psf of gross site area. We can expect 6-10 bidders.'

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Jun 22, 2011

Two choice sites in Serangoon for sale

Landed housing plot in Serangoon Garden likely to attract strong interest

By Esther Teo, Property Reporter


TWO choice sites in Serangoon are up for sale, with experts expecting healthy interest despite the recent bumper land supply rolled out by the Government.

The sites, both of which are 99-year leasehold plots, can yield about 410 homes in total and are on the confirmed list of the government land sales (GLS) programme for the first half of the year.

A 0.87ha site at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Pheng Geck Avenue, next to Potong Pasir MRT station, can accommodate about 330 flats in blocks of up to five storeys.

The other sale site is a 2.84ha plot at Serangoon Garden Way and is zoned for landed housing. About 80 homes can be built on it, but strata-landed houses will not be allowed, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.

Experts expect this site to receive a lot of interest, as demand for such properties has been strong given the limited supply.

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said that landed home prices have risen by 70 per cent in the past two years.

Bids of $480 to $520 per sq ft (psf) of land area - or up to about $160 million - can be expected, with between six to 12 bidders, Mr Mak said.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, Credo Real Estate's head of research and consultancy, expects bids to come in above $100 million - or around $320 psf of land area.

The site's proximity to the Central Expressway is a drawback as some homes could be affected by noise and dust pollution, experts said.

Mr Ong added: 'Nevertheless, as the market has been starved of landed housing sites and this is a Serangoon Garden location, we are likely to see fair interest.'

The last landed housing site put on sale was in September last year at Sembawang Greenvale. The plot, which could accommodate 115 homes, went for $546 psf of land area on average.

Another site at the junction of Chestnut Avenue and Almond Avenue that can fit 35 landed homes is expected to go on sale in October.

Mr Ong said the other Serangoon site is also expected to receive up to eight bids. However, developers are likely to be more cautious in view of the growing supply from earlier GLS tenders, impact from the possible raising of the HDB income ceiling and the increased supply of build-to-order flats, he said.

Mr Ong expects a top bid of $500 to $600 psf per plot ratio (ppr) - or up to $196 million.

This unit price is in line with the $607 psf ppr bid received for a nearby site sold in June last year, which has since been developed into Nin Residence.

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