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[SINGAPORE] A cocktail of strong sales at recent private residential project launches and an attractively located city-fringe site resulted in an impressive nine bids received for a 99-year leasehold plot near Farrer Park MRT station.

This was a stronger turnout than the three to seven bids for the Dorset Road plot forecast by analysts polled by The Business Times earlier this week.

That said, the top offer of S$524.3 million, or S$1,338 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) was towards the upper end of the S$1,000 to S$1,400 psf ppr forecast by the analysts.

A consortium comprising UOL Group, Singapore Land Group and Kheng Leong placed the highest bid at Thursday’s (Oct 9) state tender closing.

The consortium’s proposed scheme envisages two 27-storey towers with 428 residential units. UOL chief investment and asset officer Shirley Ng noted the site’s strong locational attributes, including it being within a 1-km radius of St Joseph’s Institution Junior and Hong Wen School.

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, noted that the participation in the Dorset Road tender made it one of the most keenly contested sites among the government land sale (GLS) tender closings so far this year, matching the nine bids received for a Dunearn Road plot in June.

The nine bids for the Dorset Road site is also similar to the 10 bids garnered in 2021 for the nearby Northumberland Road site, which is directly connected to Farrer Park MRT station. Zoned “residential with commercial at first storey”, the site was sold to a tie-up between City Developments and MCL Land for S$1,129 psf ppr. It has been developed into an integrated project that includes the 407-unit residential component Piccadilly Grand and a ground-floor retail podium, Piccadilly Galleria.

Piccadilly Grand saw robust take-up, moving 315 units or 77 per cent of total units at an average price of S$2,150 psf over its launch weekend in May 2022. It was fully sold by the end of 2023.

Knight Frank Singapore head of research Leonard Tay said that Thursday’s tender “reflects robust interest by developers who are generally still confident in the strong homebuyer momentum, married with the strong site-specific attributes of a city-fringe location that is flush with modern amenities and historical culture, despite economic uncertainty and elevated development costs”.

Based on the UOL-led consortium’s land price, market watchers expect a new condominium on the site to be launched at an average price of S$2,650 to S$2,800 psf, or even higher.

The consortium’s top bid on Thursday was just 1 per cent above the second-highest bid of S$1,324 psf ppr from a consortium comprising ABR Holdings, LWH Holdings, Macly Capital, Roxy-Pacific Holdings and Wee Hur Holdings.

The third-highest bid, from Hoi Hup Realty, translated to nearly S$1,315 psf ppr. Kingsford Group offered S$1,310 psf ppr for the site. A tie-up between Sim Lian Land and Sim Lian Development bid S$1,251.49 psf ppr. This was followed by a S$1,212.44 psf ppr bid from a unit of China Overseas Land & Investment.

Timely land replenishment

Tricia Song, head of research for South-east Asia at CBRE, said: “The fact that the top six bids are within a 10 per cent range shows some consensus on the site.”

Said Tay of Knight Frank: “With most Singapore residents remaining employed, and given that strong domestic savings provide households with financial flexibility, sustained demand for new products in well-located neighbourhoods with amenities currently persists, in turn incentivising developers to continue acquiring land.”

Huttons Asia chief executive officer Mark Yip said: “The strong sales at recent project launches has added urgency for developers to replenish their land bank.”

In a similar vein, UOL’s Ng noted: “If awarded, this (Dorset Road) site will be a very timely replenishment for our residential stock.”

Also participating at Thursday’s tender was a consortium that included CYZ Land, Soilbuild Group Holdings and United Engineers Developments (S$1,150 psf ppr). GuocoLand partnered Intrepid Investments for a S$1,136.75 psf ppr bid. Sustained Land placed the lowest bid of S$1,123 psf ppr.

The 111,934-square-foot site can be developed to a maximum gross floor area of 391,774 sq ft.

It is in a predominantly residential estate with existing public and private housing developments.

A myriad of attractions

Amenities such as eateries in Rangoon Road and Owen Road, Pek Kio Market and Food Centre, Pek Kio Park and Farrer Park Primary School are within easy reach by foot. City Square Mall and Mustafa Centre are also a stone’s throw from the site.

A short distance away are Kallang Polyclinic and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, noted Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion (OrangeTee and ETC) Group. “The site will be quite appealing to a variety of future buyers as there are plenty of amenities in the area.”

Tight launch supply in RCR

Yip of Huttons Asia partly attributed the robust participation at the latest GLS tender to the low supply from private residential property launches in the city fringe, or Rest of Central Region (RCR), expected in 2026.

“In 2025, an estimated 12 projects with 4,786 private homes will be launched for sale in the RCR. This will plunge to only three projects with 2,015 units in 2026 after factoring in Dorset Road. Hence, the supply of new homes in the city fringe will be limited in 2026, and this may provide support for prices of RCR homes.”

ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu said the healthy turnout for the Dorset Road tender bodes well for state land tender closings for other city-fringe sites. The tender for a plum site in Telok Blangah Road will close in early November.

Two other city-fringe sites are slated for launch in November (in Dover Road and Tanjong Rhu Road), and one in December (in Kallang Avenue).