Choice Queenstown site and Upper Changi plot for sale

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/...-sale-20121219

Choice Queenstown site and Upper Changi plot for sale

Published on Dec 19, 2012


TWO sites that could yield 1,300 homes were released by the Government yesterday.

One is a choice site next to Queenstown MRT station in Commonwealth Avenue that is tipped to fetch more than $500 million.

The other is a plot near Tanah Merah MRT station that was made available on the reserve list.

The 12,100 sq m Queenstown plot can accommodate 700 homes and is expected to attract keen interest from developers due to its central location.

Queenstown homes are in demand. Earlier this year, a Housing Board (HDB) resale flat there became the first unit to breach the $1 million mark, while new private launches in and around the area can go for about $1,500 per sq ft (psf).

Experts say the 99-year leasehold site is likely to be "heavily contested".

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of training, research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group, expects up to 10 bidders with a top offer of between $850 and $900 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

That prices the site at between $543 million and $574 million.

Demand could come from home-seekers who find private flats in the Alexandra area beyond their budget, he added.

Recent tenders for nearby sites in Alexandra Road and Prince Charles Crescent reflect optimism in the market, indicating that developers will keep chasing well-located sites in the central region, noted ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim.

He expects between five and eight bidders, with a top bid of up to $980 psf ppr - or $625 million.

Resale prices at Queens, a 99-year leasehold condo built about 10 years ago across the road from the site, are $1,300 psf on average, he noted.

Four residential sites from the government land sales (GLS) programme have already been sold in the Queenstown and Redhill estates since late last year, noted property consultancy Knight Frank.

Its research head, Mr Png Poh Soon, said this impending supply is likely to result in land bids being moderated.

The other sale site announced yesterday is a 25,800 sq m plot in New Upper Changi Road that can yield about 600 homes.

It was made available for sale on the reserve list by the HDB.

If the 99-year leasehold site is sold, it will bring to four the number of development plots recently acquired in the New Upper Changi Road and Bedok South Avenue 3 area.

These plots can collectively yield about 2,150 homes, Knight Frank said.

ERA's Mr Lim added that even with the range of plots on the recently announced GLS programme for the first half of next year, the new site will still be triggered as developers want well-located mass-market land.

But developers might temper their bids as they look at better land under the newly announced GLS instead, Knight Frank's Mr Png said.

Confirmed list sites go on sale regardless of interest, while reserve list plots are put up for tender only if a developer makes an acceptable initial offer.

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Up for grabs

SITE #1

12,100 sq m plot next to Queenstown MRT station in Commonwealth Avenue
99-year leasehold
Can yield 700 homes

SITE #2

25,800 sq m plot in New Upper Changi Road near Tanah Merah MRT station
99-year leasehold
Can yield about 600 homes

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...-site-20121219

Published December 19, 2012

Strong demand seen for Queenstown condo site

Govt also makes available reserve site next to Tanah Merah MRT Station

By Kalpana Rashiwala


[SINGAPORE] The last two 99-year-leasehold private housing sites on the second half 2012 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme have been released. One is a plum site next to Queenstown MRT Station being offered on the confirmed list and tipped by some analysts to fetch a top bid of $1,000 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) or more.

The other site, next to Tanah Merah MRT Station, is being made available for application on the reserve list. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), acting as land sales agent for the government, will launch this site for tender only if it receives an application from a developer accompanied by an undertaking of a minimum bid price acceptable to the state.

Along Commonwealth Avenue, next to Queenstown MRT Station, the Housing & Development Board, as a state land sales agent, is offering a 1.2-hectare plot that can potentially yield about 700 homes. The site has a 4.9 plot ratio (ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area), which means it can accommodate a high-rise condo of over 40 storeys, say property consultants.

Predictions of the top bid for this site range widely - from $700 psf ppr to $1,100 psf ppr. Five to 10 bids are expected for the land parcel, though Donald Han, special adviser at HSR Property Group, predicts more than 10 bids. He also has the most bullish forecast for the winning bid, $960-$1,100 psf ppr, citing "an iconic residential development with a breath-taking view of the city" which could rise from the land parcel.

The most conservative winning bid forecast of $700-$800 psf ppr came from CBRE executive director Li Hiaw Ho. This is significantly lower than the $970 psf ppr fetched earlier this month for a 99-year condo site in Alexandra Road/Alexandra View near Redhill MRT Station - one stop closer to the city. That was the fourth private housing site the government has sold in the Redhill/Alexandra area over the past year.

"The Redhill location is close to Good Class Bungalow Areas whereas this site in Queenstown is in a predominantly HDB location. On the other hand, there haven't been any private housing sites on offer in this area for some time now," said Mr Li.

ERA Realty Network key executive officer Eugene Lim pointed out that the latest site has about twice the land area of the Redhill plot sold earlier this month, though both have the same plot ratio of 4.9. "We can therefore expect five to eight bids (with the winning bid) at around $900-980 psf ppr."

The site is likely to be heavily contested given its location in a mature estate. "HDB resale flats in Queenstown have been commanding high prices, with executive flats hitting the $1 million mark," he adds.

Lee Lay Keng, associate director at DTZ, notes that the median price of units sold this year in the 99-year-leasehold Queens condo nearby is around $1,215 psf, while that in The Alexis, a freehold condo slightly further away from the MRT station and comprising mostly small units, is about $1,700 psf. She predicts the highest bid for the latest site could be around $850-$1,000 psf ppr.

The tender for the site closes on Feb 5 next year.

In New Upper Changi Road, next to Tanah Merah MRT Station, the URA is marketing a 2.6-ha reserve list site that is expected to yield about 600 units. Three private housing sites in the location have been sold by the government this year.

DTZ's Ms Lee notes the latest plot is next to the 748-unit eCO condo, which has been 75 per cent sold since it was launched in September. "Since the latest plot is closer to the MRT Station than eCO, it should draw strong interest." If the site is triggered for release from the reserve list, bids could come in above $800 psf ppr. In October, Keppel Land paid $791 psf ppr for a nearby site.

DWG senior manager Lee Sze Teck predicts up to 10 bids and a winning bid of $780-$830 psf ppr for the site if it were to be launched today.

Both the Tanah Merah and Queenstown plots are located Outside the Central Area, which means there will be a cap on the maximum number of housing units based on an average unit size of 70 square metres gross floor area.

Anytime now, the URA is expected to release the final two commercial sites in the H2 2012 GLS programme - a 1.2-ha confirmed list site near Jurong East MRT Station and a site along Cecil and Telok Ayer streets. The latter will be made available on the reserve list. Both sites are expected to have minimum office component stipulations.