URA launches West Coast Vale site for sale

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URA launches West Coast Vale site for sale

Dec 8, 2016

Site which can yield 520 residential units expected to draw warm interest, say analysts

Wong Siew Ying


A residential site at West Coast Vale that could yield up to 520 units was launched for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

Analysts expect it will receive "warm interest" from developers but not the sort of aggressive bidding seen for better located plots recently.

"In some land tenders this year, we have seen 13 to 14 bids for sites... For this plot, I think there'll be... six to eight," said PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor.

A residential site in Margaret Drive, for instance, drew bullish bids from 14 developers, while another in Martin Place attracted 13 bids.

Other analysts estimate that the 99-year leasehold plot in West Coast Vale could attract five to 10 offers in view of improved market sentiment and developers' desire to build their land banks.

Mr Wong Xian Yang, OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy, noted: "Though the site is not near an MRT station, it is relatively near the Jurong Lake District, which has many commercial amenities such as Jem and Westgate."

The 16,378 sq m plot has a maximum gross floor area of 45,860 sq m and it is being offered under the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales programme.

Ms Christine Li, research director at Cushman and Wakefield, estimates that the top bid could range from $222.1 million to $246.8 million ($450 to $500 psf per plot ratio), while OrangeTee puts it at around $271 million to $296 million ($550 to $600 psf ppr).

Analysts noted that prospective bidders would also consider sales momentum at the adjacent 752- unit Parc Riviera project, which went on the market last month.

Demand at Parc Riviera has been muted so the West Coast Vale site "is not expected to attract keen interest from most developers", said Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants.

Parc Riviera developer EL Development told The Straits Times yesterday that over 130 units have been sold since Nov 5 at an average price of about $1,175 psf.

Ms Li noted that "EL Development may also consider placing a slightly more aggressive bid to secure the site in order to maintain pricing power in the area".

The developer declined to comment on whether it would lodge a bid.

"We will continue to market Parc Riviera. I think the potential project on the new site will probably be ready for sale only in 2018, so there is still a big time gap," said EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon.

The tender closes at 12 noon on Feb 9.

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...sidential-site

Mixed views over West Coast Vale residential site

Some consultants see warm bidding interest in the site newly released by URA, others expect the slow take-up at nearby condo project to dampen interest

Thursday, December 8, 2016

by Lynette Khoo

[email protected]

@LynetteKhooBT


THE newly released residential site at West Coast Vale under the government land sales (GLS) programme may see warm interest from developers on the back of improved sentiment and a lack of available development sites, some property consultants say.

There are also others who believe that the slow take-up at nearby Parc Riviera condominium project by EL Development, which was launched last month, may serve as a dampener.

Released on Wednesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) under the Confirmed List of the second-half 2016 GLS programme, the 1.64-ha site could potentially yield up to 520 residential units. Confirmed List sites are launched according to schedule, regardless of demand.

Most consultants are expecting five to 10 bids with the top bid being in the region of S$529 to S$600 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Among them, JLL national director for research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui projected that the top bid is likely to be between S$550 and S$590 psf ppr, a shade higher than the S$551 psf ppr that EL Development paid for the Parc Riviera parcel in August, due to its slightly better location and more positive outlook in the current market.

"Unit buyers will like the private residential ambience, the site's frontage to Sungei Pandan and the park connector," he said. "Amenities such as eating and shopping are within a reasonable distance but MRT stations are quite a distance away."

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said he expects developers to submit fairly positive bids for this site and the top land bid for this site to be on a par with or slightly higher than that for the Parc Riveria site.

This will be underpinned by an emerging perception among developers with higher risk appetite that there may be a faster-than-anticipated recovery in buyers' interest and private home prices, he added.

But there are others who felt that the site is not that enticing since it is not located within walking distance to the nearest MRT station, retail shops and amenities.

"As the present buying take-up rate of the nearby Parc Riviera condo project is relatively slow, this subject site is not expected to attract keen interest from most developers," said SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak.

"Some developers may take advantage of the expected weak interest in this site to submit low opportunistic bids," he added.

Cushman & Wakefield research director Christine Li, playing the contrarian, is projecting an even lower winning bid of S$450 to S$500 psf ppr for this site, below the winning bid for the Parc Riviera site. Ms Li explained that this site that is up for tender is quite a distance away from the nearest MRT stations and that the project needs to be priced attractively at mass-market entry levels of S$1,000 to S$1,100 psf in order to garner good market response.

There is also competition from Parc Riviera, as well as IOI Properties' The Trilinq, which has 288 out of 755 units currently unsold. Still, there is a possibility that EL Development may consider placing a slightly more aggressive bid to secure the West Coast Vale site in order to maintain pricing power in the area, she opined.