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12-04-12, 03:55
http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/Story/STIStory_785072.html
EC site in Fernvale attracts only four bids
Published on Apr 4, 2012
By Amanda Tan
AN EXECUTIVE condominium (EC) site at Fernvale Lane has attracted only four bidders, a noticeable drop from the 10 developers jostling for another Punggol site last week.
Still, offers were in line with the $250 to $310 per sq ft plot per ratio (psf ppr) tipped by analysts.
The top bid for the 99-year-lease plot was $245 million, or $296 psf ppr, put in by Peak Living, a unit of Kheng Leong.
City Developments' Sunmaster Holdings was the lowest bid at $232.5 million, or $281 psf ppr.
The site, with a maximum gross floor area of 828,817 sq ft, is expected to yield about 770 units. It is near upcoming private projects like The Greenwich and Seletar Park Residences.
It proved distinctly less attractive than the EC site at the junction of Punggol Central and Edgefield Plains.
The tender for that 99-year-lease plot, which closed last week, attracted 10 bidders, with a top bid of $136.7 million, or $320 psf ppr.
Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui called the four-bid showing 'rather lacklustre', but said it is not a sign of the market cooling.
'This could be due to the perception that the site is not near any MRT station and has fewer surrounding amenities,' he said.
Mr Ong said the site is 'a bit under-rated', given that there are no ECs in the Seletar Hills vicinity.
'Upcoming shopping and food establishments nearby... are plus points for that location,' he noted.
'Being at the fringe of a private housing estate, the project will also have a different feel from ECs surrounded by public housing. There should be good interest from potential EC buyers for this site.'
He added that prices for units there will cost about $700 psf, 'a fair price to attract buyers'.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultancy, noted that the break-even price for the site would lie between $590 and $620 psf.
He said: 'The price difference between the first and last bidder was about 5 per cent, indicating that developers have similar expectations about the future selling price of ECs in this location.'
Mr Mak also noted that developers could be more selective because of 'the relatively large future supply of EC units expected to be launched towards the end of 2012 and early 2013'.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng added: 'The four bids received reflected increasing developers' caution, but not pessimism, in the property's future sales and selling price.'
Mr Luk Kwok Wing, property director of Kheng Leong, said plans are still being drawn up for the site, but there are plans to build more than 700 units there.
There will be two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments available, as well as penthouses.
ECs are a hybrid of public and private housing, and have proven to be immensely popular among buyers and developers since they were reintroduced a few years ago.
EC site in Fernvale attracts only four bids
Published on Apr 4, 2012
By Amanda Tan
AN EXECUTIVE condominium (EC) site at Fernvale Lane has attracted only four bidders, a noticeable drop from the 10 developers jostling for another Punggol site last week.
Still, offers were in line with the $250 to $310 per sq ft plot per ratio (psf ppr) tipped by analysts.
The top bid for the 99-year-lease plot was $245 million, or $296 psf ppr, put in by Peak Living, a unit of Kheng Leong.
City Developments' Sunmaster Holdings was the lowest bid at $232.5 million, or $281 psf ppr.
The site, with a maximum gross floor area of 828,817 sq ft, is expected to yield about 770 units. It is near upcoming private projects like The Greenwich and Seletar Park Residences.
It proved distinctly less attractive than the EC site at the junction of Punggol Central and Edgefield Plains.
The tender for that 99-year-lease plot, which closed last week, attracted 10 bidders, with a top bid of $136.7 million, or $320 psf ppr.
Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui called the four-bid showing 'rather lacklustre', but said it is not a sign of the market cooling.
'This could be due to the perception that the site is not near any MRT station and has fewer surrounding amenities,' he said.
Mr Ong said the site is 'a bit under-rated', given that there are no ECs in the Seletar Hills vicinity.
'Upcoming shopping and food establishments nearby... are plus points for that location,' he noted.
'Being at the fringe of a private housing estate, the project will also have a different feel from ECs surrounded by public housing. There should be good interest from potential EC buyers for this site.'
He added that prices for units there will cost about $700 psf, 'a fair price to attract buyers'.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultancy, noted that the break-even price for the site would lie between $590 and $620 psf.
He said: 'The price difference between the first and last bidder was about 5 per cent, indicating that developers have similar expectations about the future selling price of ECs in this location.'
Mr Mak also noted that developers could be more selective because of 'the relatively large future supply of EC units expected to be launched towards the end of 2012 and early 2013'.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng added: 'The four bids received reflected increasing developers' caution, but not pessimism, in the property's future sales and selling price.'
Mr Luk Kwok Wing, property director of Kheng Leong, said plans are still being drawn up for the site, but there are plans to build more than 700 units there.
There will be two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments available, as well as penthouses.
ECs are a hybrid of public and private housing, and have proven to be immensely popular among buyers and developers since they were reintroduced a few years ago.