EC plot at Canberra Drive

[princess_morbucks]

The Business Times ‏@BTBreakingnews 10m

CDL's Verwood Holdings and TID Residential are highest bidder for EC plot at Canberra Drive with offer of S$226 million, or $350.04 psf ppr.

[princess_morbucks]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brea...-site-20140128

A consortium comprising City Developments unit Verwood Holdings and TID Residential has put in the highest among six offers for an executive condominium site along Canberra Drive.
Its bid was S$226 million, or S$350.04 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 99-year leasehold land parcel, which is expected to yield about 600 units.
The bid pipped the second-highest bid of S$216.5 million, or S$335.33 psf ppr, put in by MCL Land (Brighton) by 4.4 per cent.
The lowest offer in the tender came from CEL Residential Development, which bid S$163.4 million, or S$253.05 psf ppr.

[CondoInterested]

Near / behind CR and Nautical?

[princess_morbucks]

Near / behind CR and Nautical?

Yes, just across the road.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...nd/971710.html

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...p-bid-20140129

Canberra Drive EC site draws $226m top bid

Published on Jan 29, 2014

By Cheryl Ong


PROPERTY experts say the response to a tender for an executive condominium (EC) site in Sembawang reflects growing caution among developers.

The 2.85ha site, in Canberra Drive near Sembawang Shopping Centre, had drawn a top bid of $226 million in a six-way tussle between developers when the tender closed yesterday.

The top offer was lodged by property giant City Development's unit Verwood Holdings and TID Residential, which works out to about $350 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr).

This fell within experts' forecasts of $320 psf ppr to $380 psf ppr when the site was rolled out in November, exceeding the previous benchmark of $324 psf ppr lodged by JBE Holdings for Skypark Residence.

The number of bids was also within the four to 10 bids that experts had predicted.

CDL's offer was just 4.4 per cent higher than the second-highest bid from MCL Land, which submitted an offer of $216.5 million, or $335.33 psf ppr.

However, consultants said the bidding was cautious when compared with interest in similar sites in recent times.

CBRE's research head Desmond Sim said "developers appear to be more realistic" in this round's tender, as recent government measures had made it tougher for buyers to secure an EC.

Mr Sim said the top bid was lower than the winning offer for another EC site at Westwood Avenue sold earlier this month. A joint venture between Koh Brothers Group and Heeton Holdings had won the site for $382 psf ppr.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, national director of research and con- sultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle, added that the sharper than expected price falls in last quarter's private home prices could have led developers to reassess the market.

He noted that fewer developers had shown interest in the Sembawang site than the 12 parties contesting the Westwood Avenue plot. Even the winning bids for two EC sites in Punggol Central and Punggol Drive last July were higher than yesterday's top offer.

A site in Punggol Central fetched $356 psf ppr, while the Punggol Drive plot fetched $355 psf ppr. "This analysis shows some moderation in the bids for the subject site," Mr Ong said.

Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of property consultancy R'ST Reseach, said developers were mindful of new rules capping EC buyers' mortgage payments at 30 per cent of monthly salary, since its implemention in December.

The lower bids also meant that developers were likely to sell units for an average of about $750 psf, a tad lower than the average of $800 psf in the second half of last year, he added. "They are prepared to sell ECs at lower prices, so they cannot be bidding too optimistically."

CDL said it plans to build a mid-rise project of about 11 storeys, with an estimated 660 units. The site is near Sembawang Shopping Centre, and about 1.2 km from Sembawang MRT station.

[email protected]

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...ution-20140129

Published January 29, 2014

Canberra EC bids reveal a touch of caution

By ong chor hao [email protected]


DEVELOPERS are showing greater caution in bidding for executive condominium (EC) sites, analysts say, after a tender for a 99-year leasehold site at Canberra Drive closed yesterday.

A joint venture between Verwood Holdings, a unit of City Developments, and TID Residential made the highest offer out of six bidders for the 2.86-hectare site, which is near Sembawang Shopping Centre and about 1.2 kilometres from Sembawang MRT station.

Its bid of $226 million, or $350.04 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) was 4.4 per cent higher than the second highest offer of $216.5 million, or $335.33 psf ppr, from MCL Land (Brighton).

The top bid was in line with earlier analyst estimates of between $320 and $380 psf ppr.

Consultants noted that the $350.04 psf ppr mark was lower than the winning offer of $381.81 psf ppr for an EC site at Westwood Avenue in Jurong West earlier this month.

They also noted that 12 bidders took part in the tender for the Westwood Avenue site, versus just six for Canberra Drive.

Ong Teck Hui, national director for research and consultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle, believes that the broad easing reflected in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's latest statistics may have led to a re-assessment of the EC market by developers.

"If private residential prices are expected to soften, then prices of new ECs cannot be as optimistic as before as a comfortable gap has to be maintained between EC and private residential prices for ECs to be saleable," he said.

The last EC tender in Sembawang was for the plot where SkyPark Residences is developed, which fetched $324 psf ppr in December 2012. That project launched last November and sold for a median price of $791 psf in December, going by URA data.

Tweaks to the EC market last month were also a reason for the more subdued bidding, analysts say, particularly the imposition of a mortgage servicing ratio capped at 30 per cent for EC housing loans from financial institutions for units bought directly from developers.

Said Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research Singapore: "Developers appear to be more realistic, bearing in mind the new credit restrictions imposed on EC buyers, which can only be made up of Singaporeans."

He noted the narrow divergences in yesterday's tender closing. Verwood Holdings and TID Residential's bid was just 38 per cent higher than the lowest offer of $163.4 million, or $253.05 psf ppr, from CEL Residential Development.

By comparison, the gap between the highest and lowest offer for the Westwood Avenue site was about 112 per cent.

Ong Kah Seng, director at R'ST Research, expects average selling prices for ECs launched from this year to come down to around $750 psf from the $800 psf mark for the second half of last year, as developers move to match the capped spending power of buyers.

That said, analysts believe developers remain confident about buyer demand. Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty, added that they still have "a string of EC land sites to choose from" in the first half of the year in Yishun, Sembawang and Chua Chu Kang.

A CDL spokesman said: "Given the popularity of ECs in Singapore and the site's convenient access to Sembawang MRT station and amenities, we expect this development to be well received."

It plans to explore a mid-rise EC development of between 10 and 11 storeys with approximately 660 units if awarded the site.