Bt Panjang, Jurong West sites go on reserve list

HDB releases 2 land parcels under Reserve List for condominium development

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 March 2008 2130 hrs


SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board is releasing two parcels of land for condominium housing under the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales programme.

One of them, at Jurong West Street 42, is for executive condominium housing, while the other at Chestnut Avenue is for private apartments.

Among the two sites, the one at Chestnut Avenue is expected to get more attention from developers.

Analysts said this is because of its attractive location, compared to the site at Jurong West Street 42, which is some 1.2 kilometres away from the nearest train station.

The proposed condominium project at Chestnut Avenue could yield about 400 to 450 units, which will be sold at between S$720 and S$750 per square foot on average.

Nicholas Mak, Director, Knight Frank, said, "This particular parcel at Chestnut Avenue...I think the developers might want to make it not so much mass market, but they may make it slightly mass to mid market and they may play on the fact that it is quite near to a park, so they may try to sell on its greenery aspect."

The plot at Jurong West for executive condominium housing is projected to yield about 420 to 460 units.

Both sites, with lease terms of 99 years, are on the Reserve List. This means they will only be released for sale by tender if developers commit to a minimum bid acceptable to the HDB.

However, market watchers expect rising construction costs to put pressure on the land price.

Mr Mak said, "For the executive condominium site, we can expect bids ranging from S$120 to S$160 per square foot per plot ratio, while for the private 99-year leasehold site, we could see a range of bids of about S$220 to about S$270 per square foot per plot ratio."

The potential developments are unlikely to have any immediate impact on property prices in the surrounding areas until the units are ready to be launched.

Industry watchers said the demand from developers for the two land parcels will be soft and it will depend on whether they are able to sell their current stock of inventory.

In addition, the developers are also expected to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to bidding for the two sites, as they are on the Reserve List.

Separately, the HDB also released the provisional tender results for a 99-year leasehold condominium site at the junction of Yishun Avenue 1 and 2.

MCL Land put in the highest of the five bids at over S$213 million, some 68 percent more than the next bid from Peak Green.

Analysts said the bid reflected the confidence of developers in the mass market in 2009.

They added that there is a potential for the building of 15- to 18-storey apartments at the site, which could be marketed at around S$800 per square foot. - CNA/ms

Been eyeing the Chestnut Avenue site for a long long time. Beautiful location and fantastic spot to be in if you love mountain biking, nature reserve walks, etc. The view of lower Pierce Reservoir and Diary Farm Nature reserve is worth a million bucks.

Published March 26, 2008

Bt Panjang, Jurong West sites go on reserve list

By UMA SHANKARI


HDB has released two land parcels under the government's reserve list system - a condominium site at Bukit Panjang and an executive condominium (EC) parcel at Jurong West.

The 99-year leasehold Bukit Panjang site in Chestnut Avenue is thought to be the more attractive of the two.

The parcel is 244,300 sq ft and has a 2.1 plot ratio - yielding a maximum gross floor area of 513,100 sq ft.

Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore, estimates the site can fetch $190-$200 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) - which works out to $97.5-$102.6 million in all.

But Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, is more bullish - he estimates that price should be in the region of $220 to $280 psf ppr.

This works out to $112.9-$143.7 million in all.

'Units in the proposed development will enjoy views of Cheng Hua Garden and the Lower Peirce Reservoir,' Mr Mak said.

Units can fetch average prices of $720-$750 psf, he said.

Both analysts said 400-450 units could come up on the site.

Elsewhere, the EC site in Jurong West Street 42 has an area of some 183,000 sq ft and a 3.0 plot ratio - giving it a maximum gross floor area of 549,000 sq ft.

For this site, Mr Ku expects $125-130 psf ppr.

Mr Mak, on the other hand, estimates the price will be in the region of $120 to $160 psf ppr.

He said the site is expected to attract fewer than five bids if put up for tender.

About 420-500 flats can be built on the site.

Both plots are offered through the reserve list system, under which a site is only offered for public tender if the government receives an application with a committed bid at a price deemed acceptable.

'It is good that the two sites are being offered under the reserve list,' Mr Ku said.

'In today's uncertain market, this lets developers who are looking to build up their landbanks trigger the sites, rather than selling at a time when the market response might be poor.' he said.