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Published June 1, 2011

Pasir Ris DBSS site gets $123.9m top bid

By EMILYN YAP


A PUBLIC housing site under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) at Pasir Ris Central/Pasir Ris Drive 1 attracted a top bid of $123.9 million, or $281 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), when its tender closed yesterday.

A tie-up between Kay Lim Holdings and a unit of Singapore-listed SingXpress Land submitted the bid, which exceeded market forecasts of $250 psf ppr or less made in March.

The top offer was 19 per cent above the second highest bid of $103.7 million or $235 psf ppr, placed by Yuan Ching Development.

There were altogether nine participants in the tender, including EL Development, NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative and Sim Lian Land.

The lowest bid of $75.7 million, or $172 psf ppr, came from Qingdao Construction (Singapore).

The land parcel is just across the road from Pasir Ris MRT station and White Sands Shopping Centre. It has a lease term of 103 years, which includes a 48-month construction period.

With a maximum gross floor area of around 441,000 square feet, it can accommodate an estimated 410 housing units.

The keen response to the tender and the optimistic top bid is probably due to the site's proximity to Pasir Ris MRT station, the bus interchange and the amenities in Pasir Ris Central, said Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui.

Last year, to meet strong demand for public housing and help first-time home buyers, the government allowed first-timer households with a monthly income of between $8,000 and $10,000 to buy new DBSS flats.

Under the DBSS, private developers undertake the design, construction and sale of public housing. There was previously an $8,000 income ceiling.

More recently, the government has expressed its intention to ease the $8,000 income ceiling for new HDB flats.