Keen interest seen for Siglap site

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/business...or-siglap-site

Keen interest seen for Siglap site

Nov 27, 2015

Rennie Whang


A rare East Coast condo site launched for sale by the Government yesterday is set to attract strong interest from developers.

The 207,847 sq ft site in Siglap Road could yield an estimated 750 residential units, and is the largest site on the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales programme for this half-year.

While the overall price could be daunting, developers are likely to form joint ventures.

"They will certainly look into the site due to the location, which is hard to come by," said Mr Desmond Sim, CBRE research head for Singapore and South-east Asia.

A project on the parcel, which is between Victoria School and the East Coast Parkway, would also offer unblocked sea views, he noted.

The last time a GLS condo site came up along the East Coast Park stretch could have been nearly 20 years ago, said Mr Lee Liat Yeang, a partner in the real estate practice at Rodyk & Davidson. In early 1997, a unit of Cheung Kong Holdings bought the site of Costa Del Sol.

"The main weakness is probably the noise of the expressway, but that is a trade-off factor for the views and access to the beach and amenities," said Mr Lee.

The site is about 3km from the nearest MRT station at Bedok, said Mr Nicholas Mak, SLP International executive director. The nearer Siglap MRT station is expected to be operational only in 2023.

Eventual pricing for a project on the site could be about $1,300 per sq ft - a 25 to 30 per cent premium over older developments in the area, said Mr Ong Kah Seng, R'ST Research director.

The site could draw six to eight bids, with a top bid of $790 to $850 psf per plot ratio ($574 million to $654 million), property consultants said.

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...sidential-site

Consultants expect warm interest in Siglap residential site

1.93 ha site under Government Land Sales programme is near Mandarin Gardens and Victoria School

By Lynette Khoo

[email protected]

@LynetteKhooBT

Nov 27, 2015


WARM bidding interest from developers is expected for a residential site in Siglap Road launched for public tender by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday.

The site, in a residential area near East Coast Park and existing condominiums such as Mandarin Gardens, Fernwood Towers and Villa Marina, is also near Tao Nan School, CHIJ Katong Convent, Victoria School and Victoria Junior College.

Among the favourable attributes of the 1.93-ha land parcel is its proximity to the future Siglap MRT station, and the popularity of the East Coast residential enclave.

On the confirmed list under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the second half of 2015, the site has a gross plot ratio of 3.5 and could yield about 750 units.

SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak noted that it is rare for a GLS residential site to be offered for sale in the East Coast area. "However, due to the size of this site and development, the real estate developer would require sufficient financial capacity to develop this project. Hence, the bidders are likely to be large developers and consortiums."

He added that the site is also relatively far from the nearest operational MRT station - Bedok - and that the Siglap MRT station will, going by the Land Transport Authority's time line, be operational only in 2023.

Despite their overall positive views of the site, property consultants vary widely in their estimates, expecting it to pull in between five and 15 bids, with the winning bid ranging from S$640 to S$873 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng's estimate for the winning bid was most conservative, at S$640 to S$680 psf ppr. He is projecting an average selling price for the project at S$1,300 psf if it is launched at end-2016 or in early 2017; this would entail a 25 to 30 per cent price premium, compared to older developments in the vicinity, where resale prices of freehold and leasehold projects hover at around S$1,000 psf.

Older private residential developments in the vicinity can be redeveloped via en-bloc sale, but collective sales have become difficult to implement, Mr Ong said. Anticipating a change in market conditions by the time the project is ready for launch, he said he reckons developers may easily "miss the window of opportunity" if they go through the longer process of acquiring land through collective sales.

But DTZ regional head of South-east Asia research Lee Nai Jia noted that since several projects in the area are freehold ones, the onus is on the developer to create a compelling value proposition for a 99-year leasehold development. "Traffic noise from the East Coast Parkway may be a concern for future buyers," he said. Using S$1,400 to 1,600 psf - the range for transactions in leasehold apartments in the area - as a benchmark, he anticipates six to eight bids for the site and the winning bid to be between S$790 and S$850 psf ppr. The tender for the land parcel closes at noon on Jan 14.