$1.04b bid for Silat Avenue site is ‘underwhelming'

Its ‘untested’ location and distance from MRT stations could be a disadvantage to its large size, an analyst says.

The tenders for three residential Government Land Sale (GLS) sites at Silat Avenue, Cuscaden Road, and Mattar Road attracted high bids upon the closing of their tenders, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed.

The Silat Avenue site attracted a sole bid worth $1.04b from the group of UOL Venture Investments, UIC Homes, and Kheng Leong Company. It is only 2 km from the Central Business District.

Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International, commented, “We think the underwhelming tender outcome could be due to the large size of the site (which could accommodate 1,125 homes) and relatively untested location, away from MRT stations.”

However, the outlook is different for the two other sites. The Cuscaden Road site set a benchmark price for a 99-year leasehold site. The group of Amberden Pte Ltd, FEC Properties Pte Ltd, and Orchard Square Pte. Ltd. placed the highest bid for Cuscaden Road at $410m.

Song noted that the Cuscaden Road site is rare and the most upscale of the GLS sites on offer in recent years. “Nonetheless, the top bid of $2,377 psf ppr smashes all records for a residential GLS, as well as earlier market expectations of $1,800-2,300 psf ppr. This also exceeds the previous GLS record for Jiak Kim Street site’s $1,733 psf ppr by 37%,” she added.

Also read: 14 residential tenders closing in H1 to yield 4,900 units

Meanwhile, Mattar Road received the highest number of bids, which was topped by $223.02m or $1,109 psf ppr from FSKH Development Pte Ltd. Song said the site attracted a lot of bids due to its “palatable” size of 250 homes and proximity to Mattar MRT station.

The site at Cuscaden Road was launched for public tender on 27 February 2018, whilst tenders for the Mattar Road and Silat Avenue sites were launched on 16 March 2018.

According to URA, a decision on the award of the tenders will be made after the bids have been evaluated and will be publicised at a later date.