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Tussle expected for two private residential sites

This article is more than 12 months old


A scramble by developers to build up their land banks amid better buying sentiment is likely to spark a fierce contest for two private residential sites launched for sale by public tender yesterday, analysts said. The two 99-year leasehold plots could yield 1,160 private homes.

One site offered by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is in Lorong 1 Realty Park in Hougang and earmarked for landed housing.

The other in Stirling Road, Queenstown, is for a large condominium and was launched after being triggered for sale last week.

"I expect competitive bidding for these two sites... Land-banking would probably be more urgent for developers who have not won any sites in the past two years, and/or have progressively sold their current stock," noted Ms Tricia Song, research head at Colliers International Singapore.

The Lorong 1 Realty Park plot spans nearly 13,400 sq m and is within an established residential area in Hougang.

The URA said about 50 landed homes of up to three storeys could be built there.

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International Property Consultants, expects the site to be "fiercely fought over". "There is a significant number of small- and medium-sized developers and contractor-developers who are hungry for suitable development sites," he added.

Analysts have varying views on the likely number of bidders - from 10 to 32.

The top bid could range from $58 million ($400 psf on land area) to as much as $82.2 million ($570 psf on land area).

Its popularity rests on the fairly small plot size and the dearth of sites for landed development.

The Hougang site has been released for sale via the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales Programme for this half year.

Analysts expect the Queenstown site to see a slightly more restrained bidding - eight to 12 bids - despite being in a popular mature estate and near the MRT station.

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