Blog

[SINGAPORE] A joint venture between Sing Holdings and Sunway Developments placed the top bid for a 99-year leasehold private housing site in Chuan Grove, beating out six other bidders at the close of the government tender on Tuesday (Jul 8).

The S$703.6 million bid works out to S$1,376 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), which is on the higher end of predictions by analysts polled earlier by The Business Times. At this rate, the 550-unit project on the Chuan Grove site could be launched at prices starting at S$2,700 psf. 

Noting that this was the first tender closing following fresh anti-speculative curbs announced on Jul 4, Ismail Gafoor, PropNex’s chief executive officer, said: “Developers’ appetite for land appears unaffected by the latest policy measures, reflecting their confidence in the resilience and depth of demand in the property market.”

The Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) rates were raised by four percentage points to a maximum of 16 per cent, and their applicable period extended from three to four years, in a move directed at a rise in sub-sale activity.

The winning bid for the Chuan Grove plot was 7.3 per cent higher than the second-highest of S$655.5 million (S$1,282 psf ppr) placed by City Developments Ltd. The next highest offer of S$655 million, or S$1,281 psf ppr, was placed by Sim Lian Group.

Recent government land sales (GLS) tenders have seen a marked shift in sentiment, with more players turning up and putting in firm offers for what were regarded as attractive sites. In March, an eastern region site in Bayshore attracted eight bids and a top bid of S$1,388 psf ppr – the highest land price chalked up for a 99-year leasehold site in the suburban Outside Central Region. 

In June, a prime District 11 Dunearn Road plot, the site of the first private condominium in the new Bukit Timah Turf City estate, was hotly contested by nine bidders; the top offer was S$1,410 psf ppr, made by a Frasers Property-led group. 

On Tuesday, the top bid for the Chuan Grove site was “just 2.4 per cent lower than the land rate for the prime Dunearn Road residential site, illustrating the bullishness of this bid”, said Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg.

It also exceeds the S$1,360 psf ppr price paid for a Toa Payoh Lorong 1 site in the city fringe Rest of Central Region, which is now being developed into The Orie, noted Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. 

A total of seven bids were submitted for the Chuan Grove plot. Kingsford Group, the developer of the nearby Chuan Park project launched last year, was fourth in line with its bid at S$639.6 million (S$1,251 psf ppr).

Tricia Song, CBRE research head for South-east Asia, said: “The top four bid prices are relatively tightly banded, within a 10 per cent difference (of each other), showing consensus about the attractiveness of the site, which is within 1 km of several primary schools, right next to the Australian International School and within walking distance of Lorong Chuan MRT station.”

The state land tender also attracted an offer from China developer China Overseas Land & Investment’s Coli (Singapore) with a bid of S$1,203 psf ppr, and a Hong Leong-TID tie-up bid at S$1,171 psf ppr. Japura Development, owned by Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings, placed the lowest bid of S$1,002 psf ppr.

Rising interest

Developers were likely encouraged by 2024’s launch of Chuan Park, which Kingsford marketed in November, selling 76 per cent or nearly 700 of its 916 units at an average price of S$2,579 psf ppr over its launch weekend. 

Kingsford had acquired the old Chuan Park condominium site at a collective sale in May 2023 for S$890 million. BT understands that the land cost for the site, including a land betterment charge, came to around S$1,200 psf ppr. 

The Chuan Grove GLS site has an area of almost 16,000 square metres. A second parcel adjacent to the site, which can yield another 505 new units, is also up for offer in a tender that closes in September. 

The site tendered this week was the first state land site released in the area around the Lorong Chuan MRT station since 2009, when Hong Leong Group won a land parcel in Serangoon Avenue 3 for S$221 million or S$529 psf ppr, said Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research. Units of The Scala, a condominium since developed on the site, were sold at an average of about S$1,150 psf when it was launched in 2010. 

SRI’s head of research and data analytics, Mohan Sandrasegeran, noted that transaction data for Kingsford’s Chuan Park between November 2024 and June 2025 indicated that the project’s overall average unit prices hovered between S$2,545 psf and S$2,693 psf in the first half of this year; the tab for the priciest units surpassed S$2,700 psf.  

Lee Sze Hao, CEO of Sing Holdings, said: “Subject to the tender award… we plan to develop a residential development comprising three high-rise towers of approximately 550 units, with full facilities and community-centric features.” 

By the time the Chuan Grove project is brought to market around Q3 2026, Chuan Park is likely to be fully sold, having already achieved over 83 per cent in sales less than a year since its launch, said Sandrasegeran.

Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion Group, said: “There is a large catchment of potential HDB upgraders from the nearby areas of Serangoon, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio, as well as landed home downgraders in the vicinity of Serangoon Gardens and Lorong Chuan who may be looking to right-size their property.”