reporter2
01-06-12, 22:04
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/singapore/sengkang-condo-site-draws-just-5-offers
Published June 01, 2012
Sengkang condo site draws just 5 offers
Top bidder EL Dev plans 800 units priced at $1,000 psf
By Kalpana Rashiwala
THE state tender for a 99-year private housing site near Sengkang MRT Station and Compass Point mall yesterday drew just five bids.
However, the top bid - of $383.333 million or $527.65 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) by EL Development - was about 10 per cent higher than the second highest bid and 5 per cent above the price that Keppel Land paid for the next-door plot in March last year.
Some observers suggest EL Development's top bid reflect its strong appetite for land - two days ago it lost out to MCL Land in the tender for a plum condo plot near Jurong East MRT Station by just 0.08 per cent or 55 cents psf ppr.
However, the muted turnout at yesterday's tender, with just five bids - compared with nine for the next-door plot last year - could be be due to considerable supply coming out in the Sengkang/Punggol vicinity, which would intensify competition in the location, say property consultants. "Five bids ... is not typical for an attractive site near an MRT station, mall and other amenities," as Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui noted.
The tender earlier this week - the first for a private housing site in the Jurong Gateway commercial hub - drew 12 bids.
EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon yesterday evening told BT the firm's beakeven cost for a new condo on the Sengkang plot tendered yesterday would be be about $900 psf and indicated he is eyeing an average selling price of about $1,000-1,050 psf.
"We hope to launch by Q1 2013. Our scheme involves 14 blocks of 15 storeys each, with a total of over 800 units, comprising one to four bedders, with probably some dual-key units," he added.
EL Development is the sister company of construction group Evan Lim & Co, which is likely to handle the construction of the proposed project. It will have full condo facilities - including an Olympic-sized pool, at least one tennis court and a clubhouse.
On the next-door site tendered last year, KepLand is developing a 622-unit condo, The Luxurie, which was close to 60 per cent sold based on April developer sales data released by Urban Redevelopment Authority, industry players noted yesterday.
KepLand released The Luxurie in August last year, selling 151 units at a median price of $1,053 psf in that month. In April this year, it sold 34 units at a $1,042 psf median price. As at end-April, 356 of the 400 launched units were sold.
When the tender for the latest plot was launched in April, property consultants had forecast that the top bids could come in at $400-550 psf ppr.
Published June 01, 2012
Sengkang condo site draws just 5 offers
Top bidder EL Dev plans 800 units priced at $1,000 psf
By Kalpana Rashiwala
THE state tender for a 99-year private housing site near Sengkang MRT Station and Compass Point mall yesterday drew just five bids.
However, the top bid - of $383.333 million or $527.65 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) by EL Development - was about 10 per cent higher than the second highest bid and 5 per cent above the price that Keppel Land paid for the next-door plot in March last year.
Some observers suggest EL Development's top bid reflect its strong appetite for land - two days ago it lost out to MCL Land in the tender for a plum condo plot near Jurong East MRT Station by just 0.08 per cent or 55 cents psf ppr.
However, the muted turnout at yesterday's tender, with just five bids - compared with nine for the next-door plot last year - could be be due to considerable supply coming out in the Sengkang/Punggol vicinity, which would intensify competition in the location, say property consultants. "Five bids ... is not typical for an attractive site near an MRT station, mall and other amenities," as Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui noted.
The tender earlier this week - the first for a private housing site in the Jurong Gateway commercial hub - drew 12 bids.
EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon yesterday evening told BT the firm's beakeven cost for a new condo on the Sengkang plot tendered yesterday would be be about $900 psf and indicated he is eyeing an average selling price of about $1,000-1,050 psf.
"We hope to launch by Q1 2013. Our scheme involves 14 blocks of 15 storeys each, with a total of over 800 units, comprising one to four bedders, with probably some dual-key units," he added.
EL Development is the sister company of construction group Evan Lim & Co, which is likely to handle the construction of the proposed project. It will have full condo facilities - including an Olympic-sized pool, at least one tennis court and a clubhouse.
On the next-door site tendered last year, KepLand is developing a 622-unit condo, The Luxurie, which was close to 60 per cent sold based on April developer sales data released by Urban Redevelopment Authority, industry players noted yesterday.
KepLand released The Luxurie in August last year, selling 151 units at a median price of $1,053 psf in that month. In April this year, it sold 34 units at a $1,042 psf median price. As at end-April, 356 of the 400 launched units were sold.
When the tender for the latest plot was launched in April, property consultants had forecast that the top bids could come in at $400-550 psf ppr.