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mr funny
06-10-10, 09:49
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,407124,00.html?

Published October 6, 2010

Tampines, Segar Road EC sites up for tender

Analysts say interest in the two executive condo plots will probably be tepid

By UMA SHANKARI


THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) has released two more executive condominium (EC) sites - one at Tampines Avenue 8 and the other at Segar Road - for sale by tender.

The sites, which together can yield 1,095 units, are being launched under the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales programme for second-half 2010.

Analysts say interest in the two plots will probably be tepid - given five EC sites have already been sold this year and the tender for another site at Pasir Ris closes on Oct 21.

Of the two new sites, the Segar Road parcel in the Bukit Panjang area can yield a maximum gross floor area of 673,000 sq ft. Around 570 flats can be built on this plot.

The tender closes on Dec 2 and analysts see a top in the region of $200- $250 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The other site, at Tampines, can yield a maximum gross floor area of 621,000 sq ft and an estimated 525 units can be built on it.

Analysts expect it to fetch $220-$280 psf ppr when the tender closes on Nov 23.

HDB is rolling out sites as demand for the first EC development to be offered to home-buyers since end- 2004 - Esparina Residences at Sengkang - is proving to be strong.

Developer Frasers Centrepoint said it had received close to 1,000 applications for the 573-unit project by Oct 3.

MCC Land will start to preview its 406-unit EC project - The Canopy, at Yishun - this weekend. Units are expected to be priced at $600-$700 psf.

However, developer interest in EC sites has cooled progressively as 2010 has passed.

The first two EC sites to be offered this year - Esparina Residences and The Canopy - drew 11 and 10 bids respectively when the tenders closed in March.

But the three EC sites sold subsequently have drawn fewer and fewer bids.

A site at Sengkang drew seven bids when the tender closed in May.

And two other sites at Punggol drew five and four bids when the tenders closed in June and September.

'At the pace the government is pushing out EC sites, either the bids will get lower or we may even get a situation with no bids at all,' said Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International Property Consultants.

The tender for an EC site at Jurong West closed in August with no takers.

Looking ahead, the Urban Redevelopment Authority intends to roll out two new sites for private residential developments at Punggol and Seletar roads this month.

mr funny
06-10-10, 10:03
http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/Story/STIStory_587039.html

Oct 6, 2010

Two more exec condo sites up for tender

Bt Panjang, Tampines sites to yield 1,095 units; cautious response likely

By Harsha Jethnani


LAND parcels earmarked for two executive condominium (EC) projects have been launched by the Housing Board.

This follows keen interest in the first EC in five years, Esparina Residences near Buangkok MRT station, which was open for viewing last week.

ECs, the poshest type of public housing, include some condo-style facilities while HDB rules still apply.

The two 99-year leasehold sites are located at Tampines Avenue 8 and Segar Road in the Bukit Panjang area.

The 20,600 sq m Tampines site, near the Bedok Reservoir area, could yield 525 units while the second 20,834 sq m site, next to Segar LRT station, can yield 570 units, HDB said in a statement yesterday.

The tender for the Tampines site will close at noon on Nov 23 while the Segar Road tender will close on Dec 2. Both are under the Government land sale's confirmed list for the second half of this year.

To continue meeting the strong demand for private housing, HDB also said that the Urban Redevelopment Authority will be releasing another two sites for residential development - at Punggol Central and Seletar Road - this month.

Last week, when Esparina Residences went on sale, more than 300 buyers visited the showflat, with 220 registering interest in an upcoming ballot to book a preferred unit in the 573-unit development.

Developers, however, seem to be more cautious and selective in choosing sites.

Colliers International's director for research and advisory, Ms Tay Huey Ying, expects the response to the latest EC sites to be 'lukewarm'.

'We've already seen developers' interest in residential developments simmering down from the last few tender exercises,' Ms Tay told The Straits Times.

Last month, the tender for a site in Punggol drew just four bids, with the highest bid of $136.2 million among the lowest of top bids for such sites this year.

Last week, a condominium plot in Pasir Ris also drew just four bids and relatively modest offers.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, Credo Real Estate's executive director of research and consultancy, said: 'The trend of subdued cautious bidding is likely to continue.'

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International Property Consultants, said developers are aware that more land sites are oncoming, 'so they are getting more and more choosy'.

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