http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prope...draws-14-bids-
A residential site at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh and Lorong 4 Toa Payoh has received strong interest from developers, attracting 14 bids at the close of its public tender exercise on Thursday, revealed the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research for Singapore and South East Asia, said this is unsurprising considering the site’s location within a well-established estate with very few private residential projects.
A consortium comprising Evia Real Estate, Greatearth Pte Ltd and Gamuda Berhad submitted the highest bid of $345.86 million, followed by Sing Holdings with a $342.1 million offer.
The gap between “the winning bid and the next highest is a close call of only 1.1 percent – the lowest gap we have seen since Q2 2014 when a site at Choa Chu Kang Drive was awarded to Sim Lian Land at a margin of 2.2 percent over the next bidder,” stated Dr Chua Yang Liang, JLL research head for South East Asia.
Christine Li, director of research at Cushman & Wakefield, said the top bid indicated that land prices around the area have held up despite tepid sales in the new homes market. In fact, it was very much in line with the bullish bid achieved at the Lorong Puntong site in Upper Thomson last August.
Since there have been no new private residential launches within the area since 2009, Li expects the project to be well-received by first-time buyers and upgraders if priced realistically.
“The breakeven price of the project is around $1,250 psf and we expect sales to start at around $1,450-1,500 psf,” she shared.
Founded in 2010, Evia has launched three executive condominium projects in Singapore – Watercolours in Pasir Ris (2011), Heron Bay in Upper Serangoon (2012) and the record-breaking Lake Life in Jurong Lake District (2014).
“Similar to Jurong, we believe that there is a pent-up demand for private housing in this area, as it is one of the most populated public housing estates in Singapore, and is the closest estate to the city,” said Vincent Ong, Managing Partner of Evia Real Estate.
“Having launched three successful executive condominiums in the past, we are confident that we will be able to continue providing buyers with excellent quality homes that are not only a sound investment choice, but a vibrant and attractive home for the family.”
Image: Map of Toa Payoh site. (Source: HDB)