Residential Market News Extract - 1 June 2012

Sengkang condo site draws just 5 offers

The state tender for a 99-year private housing site near Sengkang MRT Station and Compass Point mall yesterday drew just five bids.

However, the top bid - of $383.333 million or $527.65 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) by EL Development - was about 10 per cent higher than the second highest bid and 5 per cent above the price that Keppel Land paid for the next-door plot in March last year.

Some observers suggest EL Development's top bid reflect its strong appetite for land - two days ago it lost out to MCL Land in the tender for a plum condo plot near Jurong East MRT Station by just 0.08 per cent or 55 cents psf ppr.

However, the muted turnout at yesterday's tender, with just five bids - compared with nine for the next-door plot last year - could be be due to considerable supply coming out in the Sengkang/Punggol vicinity, which would intensify competition in the location, say property consultants.

EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon yesterday evening told BT the firm's beakeven cost for a new condo on the Sengkang plot tendered yesterday would be be about $900 psf and indicated he is

On the next-door site tendered last year, KepLand is developing a 622-unit condo, The Luxurie, which was close to 60 per cent sold based on April developer sales data released by Urban Redevelopment Authority, industry players noted yesterday.

KepLand released The Luxurie in August last year, selling 151 units at a median price of $1,053 psf in that month. In April this year, it sold 34 units at a $1,042 psf median price. As at end-April, 356 of the 400 launched units were sold.

When the tender for the latest plot was launched in April, property consultants had forecast that the top bids could come in at $400-550 psf ppr.

Source: Business Times – 1 June 2012