First post-measure GLS tender closing sees more subdued participation and bids by developers

First post-measure GLS tender reflects developers’ cautious stance

September 04, 2018

Ms. Tay Huey Ying, Head of Research and Consultancy, Singapore

郑惠匀, 研究与咨询部主管 (新加坡)

Today’s tender closing for the Dairy Farm Road residential site with commercial use on first storey, Jalan Jurong Kechil non-landed residential site and Canberra Link executive condominium (EC) site marks the first batch of GLS sites whose tenders closed after the Government announced adjustments to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits on residential property purchases on 5 July 2018 in an attempt to cool the property market and keep price increases in line with economic fundamentals.

The tender results reflect developers’ cautious stance in general, and for private housing sites in particular. This is borne out in the lower number of bids ranging from three to five received for the Jalan Jurong Kechil non-landed residential site and Dairy Farm Road residential with commercial at first storey site, compared to the nine bids received for the Canberra Link executive condominium site.

This clearly indicates that developers’ sentiment for private homes has been more adversely affected than that for ECs given that the additional cooling measures have a greater impact on demand for private homes.

The more subdued level of competition seen for the two sites with private housing component (Jalan Jurong Kechil and Dairy Farm Road) has also resulted in more measured bids by developers. 

Jalan Jurong Kechil non-landed residential site

For example, the top bid of SGD1,002 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) submitted by the joint venture of COHL Singapore Pte Ltd and CSC Land Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd translates to an estimated selling price of SGD1,600 to 1,700 per sq ft, slightly under the SGD1,702 per sq ft average transacted prices for the recently launched nearby Daintree Residences based on the 42 caveats captured by the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Real Estate Information System as of 4 September 2018.

Dairy Farm Road residential with commercial use on first storey site

Similarly, the top bid of SGD 830 psf ppr submitted for the Dairy Farm Road site translates to an estimated selling price in the region of SGD 1,400 to 1,500 per sq ft, significantly lower than the freehold Mont Botanik Residence at Jalan Remaja, which was recently launched at an average price of SGD 2,000 psf but within the average transacted prices of SGD1,437 psf recorded for the May 2018 Phase 2 launch of Le Quest along Bukit Batok Street 41. It is 22.2% lower than the SGD 1,068 psf ppr that was fetched by the Hillview Rise GLS private residential site awarded in July 2018. It

Canberra Link executive condominium site

Although interest in the Canberra Link EC site remained healthy with nine bidders participating in the tender, this pales in comparison to the 17 bids received for the last EC site at Sumang Walk that was closed in February 2018. Price-wise, the top bid of SGD 558 psf ppr received for the Canberra Link is 4.3% lower than the SGD 583 psf ppr achieved for the Sumang Walk site in February 2018. Perhaps, developers have taken into account the additional 5% non-remittable ABSD that they have to pay for sites acquired after 5 July 2018 in their tender submission. Estimated breakeven price for the new EC at Canberra Link is estimated at between SGD 950 and SGD 1,000 psf. This could translate to higher selling prices than the last EC project launched at Rivercove Residences along Anchorvale Lane in April 2018 which were sold at an average of SGD 976 psf based on caveats lodged.

A summary of the site attributes and tender results can be found below:

 

 

Dairy Farm Road

Jalan Jurong Kechil

Canberra Link

Use

Residential with Commercial uses at 1st storey

Residential

Executive Condominium (EC)

Land Area (sqm)

19,647.7

14,234.9

18,040.6

GFA (sqm)

41,261.0

19,929.0

45,101.5

Est. No. of Units

500

280

450

Top Bid Price

(SGD)

368.8 million

215.0 million

271.0 million

Top Bid Price (SGD psf ppr)

830

1,002

558

No. of Bidders

5

3

9

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