Landed plots fetch 22% less at URA auction

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Published April 23, 2008

Landed plots fetch 22% less at URA auction

By EMILYN YAP


LANDED-HOUSING sites at Sembawang were sold yesterday at prices 22 per cent lower on average than nearby plots a few months ago. Yesterday's auction by the Urban Redevelopment Authority was for 11 plots with 99-year leasehold tenure. All were sold - for a total of $45.29 million, or $223 per sq ft (psf) on average.

The plots come under phase two of Sembawang Greenvale estate. URA sold the 12 plots in nearby phase one in October last year for about $285 psf on average. Smaller developers and individuals turned up yesterday to bid for the phase two plots, which can be developed into 90 dwellings - one bungalow, 16 semi-detached houses and 73 terraced houses.

Fragrance Homes reaped the biggest harvest, winning four plots that can house eight semi-detached houses and 40 terraced houses. The largest plot, in Penaga Place, designated for 18 terraced houses across 35,624 sq ft, cost Fragrance $8.7 million or $244 psf. This was the highest psf price for any of the 11 plots.

Odeon Properties' $1.66 million bid for a plot in Kerong Lane represented the lowest psf price of $151. The 10,989 sq ft site can accommodate one bungalow and two semi-detached houses. Reflecting the better market last year, prices on a psf basis in phase one ranged from a higher $210 to $327 psf.

The only individual to submit a wining bid yesterday, Christina Sui Fong Fong, bought the third-largest land parcel for $6.65 million or $221 psf.

Asked about plans to release more landed-housing parcels, URA's director of land administration Choy Chan Pong said: 'We will be releasing according to market demand.'