Pasir Ris leasehold condo site gets only three bids

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Published May 11, 2011

Pasir Ris leasehold condo site gets only three bids

Top bid from MCL Land stands at $246 million or $402 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


A STATE tender for a 99-year leasehold private condo site at Pasir Ris Drive 4, close to Pasir Ris Park/beach and Downtown East, drew just three bids yesterday. The top bid, from Hongkong Land unit MCL Land, was $246.1 million or $402.41 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - 5.2 per cent higher than the next highest offer by Robert Kuok's Singapore property arm, Allgreen Properties.

The only other bidder at yesterday's tender was a joint venture among Frasers Centrepoint, Far East Organization and China Construction (South Pacific) Development which bid $360 psf ppr - slightly ahead of the $335 psf ppr that an earlier tie-up between Far East and Frasers Centrepoint paid for the next-door 99-year private condo site at a tender in September last year. The duo is expected to preview their project, The Seastrand, within the next couple of months. It will have 473 apartments - one to four-bedroom units - in 11 and 12-storey blocks.

Giving his take on yesterday's tender, Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui described the interest level as 'rather subdued' but added that it did not signal any major change in market reading. Rather, the latest tender outcome was partly a case of 'an average site commanding lower interest' - compared with some of the more hotly contested 99-year private residential sites at state tenders this year, he added.

Last September's tender for the next-door Seastrand site too had drawn just four bids, he noted. As well, the potential competition from the impending preview of The Seastrand may have affected interest and bidding at yesterday's tender, he reckons.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that the government's upcoming review of the monthly household income ceiling for buyers of new public housing flats may impact demand for mass-market private homes.

He estimates that MCL could break even at about $750 psf. 'Units in this new project will be able to fetch above $800 psf on the average. Based on caveats lodged between February and April 2011, units in NV Residences at Pasir Ris Drive 1 were sold at $800-$890 psf and Oasis @ Elias along Elias Road at $680-$830 psf.'

MCL chief executive Koh Teck Chuan said that the plot could yield about 580 units averaging 1,000 sq ft. However, MCL's proposed scheme is likely to have a higher number of units, roughly half of which will comprise one and two-bedders; and 30 per cent, three-bedders. The rest will be four-bedders and penthouses.

He also said that MCL is getting ready to preview a 99-year leasehold condo at Hougang Avenue 2/Yio Chu Kang Road next weekend. The five-storey project, named Terrasse, will comprise 414 units - including one to four-bedroom apartments, five-bedroom penthouses and 15 garden duplex units (spread over the ground and basement levels). The average price is likely to be $950-1,000 psf, Mr Koh said.

Separately, URA has accepted an application from an unnamed developer seeking the release from the reserve list of a 45-year leasehold industrial site in Tuas View Square. The party has committed to bid at least $4.89 million, which works out to $115.95 psf ppr. The plot is zoned for Business 2 use. URA will launch the tender for this site in about two weeks.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_667208.html

May 11, 2011

$246m top bid for site in Pasir Ris


A RESIDENTIAL site in Pasir Ris has achieved a top bid of $246 million after a subdued three-way tussle.

The top bid by MCL Land for the site at the junction of Jalan Loyang Besar and Pasir Ris Drive 4 works out to $402 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), 5 per cent more than Allgreen Properties' second-placed bid of $383 psf ppr. A joint bid by Frasers Centrepoint, Far East Organization and China State Construction International came in last, at $360 psf ppr.

The interest level for the 99-year leasehold site that can yield about 580 homes was rather subdued, experts say. However, they add that it does not signify any major change in market sentiments.

The site is at an average location without any strong pull factors, said Mr Ong Teck Hui, Credo Real Estate's head of research and consultancy.

Another factor that could also have affected interest is the nearby Seastrand project, a 462-unit condominium that is ready for launch. As Seastrand has the first-mover advantage, it could soak up the demand for homes in the area.

The Seastrand site attracted four bidders when its tender closed in September last year. It sold for $335 psf ppr.

Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, agreed that the number of bids probably reflects developers' awareness of potential competition from other projects in the vicinity.

A government review of the income ceiling of public housing for first-time buyers may also have an impact on the demand for mass-market private homes, he added.

Mr Li expects a break-even cost of around $750 psf, with units in the new project able to fetch above $800 psf on average. 'Demand is likely to come from the potential upgraders currently living in Pasir Ris and Tampines new towns and those working at Changi Airport, Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park and Tampines North Wafer Fab Park,' he added.

Units in nearby NV Residences at Pasir Ris Drive 1 and Oasis@Elias were recently sold at between $800 psf and $890 psf and between $680 psf and $830 psf respectively, Mr Li noted.

ESTHER TEO