Project may add to charms of Seletar Hills

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Published August 8, 2009

Project may add to charms of Seletar Hills

URA to put commercial and residential site up for tender later this month. By Kalpana Rashiwala


LOOKING for a new condominium project nestled in the quiet Seletar Hills Estate and in close proximity to roti prata outlets in the Jalan Kayu area, fish farms and The Animal Resort? A new condo with about 225 units could be ready for launch in about a year.

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RUSTIC ALLURE
The 2.1 hectare site at the corner of Seletar and Yio Chu Kang roads is the third site in three weeks to be triggered for launch from the reserve lis

It will come up on a 99-year leasehold plot on the government's reserve list that will be launched for tender by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in about a fortnight.

The 2.1 hectare site will also have a commercial component of up to 48,438 square feet gross floor area. Analysts say the commercial component, which could take the form of a small mall, would provide much needed shopping amenities in the vicinity.

The site at the corner of Seletar and Yio Chu Kang roads was once occupied by a wet market and HDB shops and was a convenient shopping haunt of Seletar Hills residents.

This is the third time in three weeks that a site on the government's reserve list which can be developed into private homes has been triggered for launch after a successful application by a developer - reflecting developers' hunger for land for mass-market condominium development in the face of a strong pick-up in home sales.

The identity of the developer that made the successful application for the launch of the latest site in Seletar was not revealed by the URA yesterday. However, the developer's minimum bid price was made public - $40.5 million or $128 per square foot per plot ratio.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho predicts strong interest in the plot with about six to eight bids likely, given the current pace of sales of suburban condominiums.

Top bids are expected to be in the $250-$300 psf ppr range - some 95 per cent to 134 per cent above the trigger price, he reckons.

'Based on this land price, as well as the current resale prices of some of the newer condominium units in the Yio Chu Kang area which are between $600 psf and $700 psf, new apartments at this site should fetch prices of between $700 and $750 psf,' he said.

However, Colliers International's research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying expects just a handful of bids for the site, citing the lack of amenities in the vicinity and the fact that the site is not in close proximity to an MRT station. She also noted that older condos in the vicinity, such as Seletar Springs Condo, Serenity Park, Sunrise Gardens and Nim Gardens, fetched median prices of $480 psf to $520 psf in the first half of this year.

The site first appeared in the Government Land Sales Programme in the reserve list for second-half 2004.

At the time, it was much smaller, at 0.5 hectare. The plot was later expanded and in the second half of 2008 was moved to the confirmed list and slated for launch in November last year.

However, before that could happen, the government suspended confirmed list land sales in October last year during the global financial crisis. That was when the plot was moved to the reserve list where it had remained until it was triggered for launch.

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August 8, 2009 Saturday

3rd site triggered for sale in 3 weeks

Developer commits to bid $40.5m for govt plot in Seletar Hills area

By Joyce Teo


YET another government land parcel has been triggered for sale after a developer committed to bid at least $40.5 million for the site at the corner of Yio Chu Kang and Seletar roads.

The site is the third government plot triggered for sale in as many weeks after developers tendered bids on land in Dakota Crescent and Chestnut Avenue.

'Developers are looking at the market two years down the road,' said Jones Lang LaSalle's head of South-east Asia research Chua Yang Liang.

'We are still in a contraction mode but the global credit crunch has eased somewhat in Singapore and there is more certainty that we've seen the worst.'

The recent run-up in demand also points to a more positive mood, he said.

The latest land parcel is a 2.1ha commercial and residential site located within the established residential area at Seletar Hills and near the future Seletar Aerospace Park.

With a gross plot ratio of 1.4, it can generate a maximum permissible gross floor area of about 29,400 sq m.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) estimates the site can accommodate 225 housing units.

Shops and food and beverage outlets can be built on 4,500 sq m of commercial space within the proposed development.

Interest in the site is likely to be strong, given the high demand for suburban condos, experts said.

'Given the current pace of sales for suburban condominiums now, the interest for land sites is high and the response to this site should be strong, with likely six to eight bidders,' said the executive director of CBRE Research, Mr Li Hiaw Ho.

Bids are expected to range from $250 to $300 per sq ft per plot ratio, he said.

At that level, they will be about 95 per cent to 134 per cent above the trigger price, which works out to $128 psf per plot ratio.

Mr Li said new apartments on the site should fetch prices of between $700 and $750 psf.

This is based on the expected bids and the resale prices of some of the newer condominium units in the Yio Chu Kang area, which are going at between $600 and $700 psf.

The site was made available for sale via the reserve list system.

Under this sale method, a site goes up for tender only if developers indicate interest by committing to a minimum bid.

There had been much uncertainty in the market earlier, with developers showing little interest in buying sites, but the pick-up in recent months has been fast and furious.

Chesterton Suntec International research and consultancy director Colin Tan said the triggering of the Seletar site is another sign of the strong demand out there.

'Even the developers feel that there is enough demand out there. It's the market talking,' said Mr Tan.

'If the demand from investors is so strong..., then the Government should announce immediately that it will be activating the confirmed list once again at the next review,' he said.

This should cool the market by telling investors that, with more supply coming up, the potential for higher profits will not be there, he said.

Under the confirmed list, sites are put up for tender at scheduled dates, regardless of developers' interest.

The URA said it will launch the tender for the Seletar Road site in about two weeks. The date will be announced later.

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