http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...37768,00.html?
Published May 6, 2011
URA selling Choa Chu Kang, West Coast residential sites
By EMILYN YAP
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday rolled out for sale two 99-year leasehold residential sites which can together yield some 695 units.
Both land parcels in the western part of Singapore are on the confirmed list, which means they were put up for tender according to a pre-stated schedule regardless of demand from developers.
One site is at West Coast Link/West Coast Crescent, across the road from West Coast Park. Schools such as The Japanese Supplementary School and the National University of Singapore are nearby. The 1.27 hectare plot has a maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of 381,600 square feet and can accommodate an estimated 360 housing units. Its tender will close on June 23.
Going by caveats lodged in July and August last year, units at the upcoming The Vision condominium next door were sold at $887-1,028 per square foot (psf).
CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho predicts bids of $560-580 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the latest site, assuming that a project on it can fetch prices of around $1,000- 1,100 psf.
The second plot is at Choa Chu Kang Road/Phoenix Road, within walking distance to the Phoenix and Teck Whye LRT stations. It is also near the future Bukit Panjang MRT station and Junction 10 mall.
The 1.54 hectare site has a maximum permissible GFA of 347,800 sq ft, which allows a developer to build around 335 units. Its tender will close on June 30.
Nearby, The Tennery was launched last year at around $1,200 psf, Mr Li noted. Assuming that a new project can fetch similar prices, the latest site could draw bids of $600-640 psf ppr, he said.
The government has been ramping up the supply of residential sites to tame rising home prices. Later this month, the Housing & Development Board will also put up for sale an executive condominium plot in Punggol that can yield around 720 units.
Late last month, URA had released two sites on the confirmed list, one at Flora Drive and another in Woodlands.