13-01-2012, 06:46 AM
The Straits Times
Jan 13, 2012
$408m bid for rare condo site in Clementi
8-way tussle for plot in mature estate, close to MRT station
By Esther Teo
A RARE condominium site in Clementi has attracted a top bid of $408 million in an eight-way tussle - an indication that builders are still bullish on mass market home demand.
Malaysian developer IOI Properties' unit Multi Wealth (Singapore) lodged the top bid of $554 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr) for the 2.4 ha site at Jalan Lempeng - 13 per cent more than the $361 million joint bid by UOL Group, Singapore Land and Kheng Leong. This is the highest unit price submitted for a government condo land parcel since August last year.
Other bidders for the site, which can yield 685 units, include Guocoland, MCL Land, Mezzo Development and Soilbuild Group Holdings.
Soilbuild lodged the lowest bid of $260.1 million.
Experts said that the healthy level of interest indicates that developers think that demand in the mass market segment is still robust.
But the higher interest is also because sites in a mature estate close to tertiary educational institutions rarely hit the market, they added.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group, said that the Clementi estate has not had a condo project launch in many years. The site is also near to Clementi MRT station.
'There is likely to be pent-up demand from the residents living in Clementi. The recent Design, Build and Sell Scheme project, Trivelis, is a good example,' he added. Trivelis in Clementi was more than two times oversubscribed last October.
Mr Lee expects the breakeven price of the latest project to be about $1,000 psf with the selling price likely to be around $1,200 and $1,300 psf.
Mr Ong Teck Hui, head of research and consultancy at Credo Real Estate, attributes the strong interest and high bids to the attractiveness of the site. There are also fewer sites available in the west compared with other locations, especially in the north-east and east where the most recent tender sites have been located, he said.
'This tender indicates that many developers are still fairly positive about the market and if this continues for other land tenders, it could lead to buyers reading the market positively as well,' Mr Ong said.
Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International's director of research and advisory, however, said that the difference in bids reflects IOI Properties' keen interest and that other developers continued to be more cautious.
esthert@sph.com.sg
Jan 13, 2012
$408m bid for rare condo site in Clementi
8-way tussle for plot in mature estate, close to MRT station
By Esther Teo
A RARE condominium site in Clementi has attracted a top bid of $408 million in an eight-way tussle - an indication that builders are still bullish on mass market home demand.
Malaysian developer IOI Properties' unit Multi Wealth (Singapore) lodged the top bid of $554 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr) for the 2.4 ha site at Jalan Lempeng - 13 per cent more than the $361 million joint bid by UOL Group, Singapore Land and Kheng Leong. This is the highest unit price submitted for a government condo land parcel since August last year.
Other bidders for the site, which can yield 685 units, include Guocoland, MCL Land, Mezzo Development and Soilbuild Group Holdings.
Soilbuild lodged the lowest bid of $260.1 million.
Experts said that the healthy level of interest indicates that developers think that demand in the mass market segment is still robust.
But the higher interest is also because sites in a mature estate close to tertiary educational institutions rarely hit the market, they added.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group, said that the Clementi estate has not had a condo project launch in many years. The site is also near to Clementi MRT station.
'There is likely to be pent-up demand from the residents living in Clementi. The recent Design, Build and Sell Scheme project, Trivelis, is a good example,' he added. Trivelis in Clementi was more than two times oversubscribed last October.
Mr Lee expects the breakeven price of the latest project to be about $1,000 psf with the selling price likely to be around $1,200 and $1,300 psf.
Mr Ong Teck Hui, head of research and consultancy at Credo Real Estate, attributes the strong interest and high bids to the attractiveness of the site. There are also fewer sites available in the west compared with other locations, especially in the north-east and east where the most recent tender sites have been located, he said.
'This tender indicates that many developers are still fairly positive about the market and if this continues for other land tenders, it could lead to buyers reading the market positively as well,' Mr Ong said.
Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International's director of research and advisory, however, said that the difference in bids reflects IOI Properties' keen interest and that other developers continued to be more cautious.
esthert@sph.com.sg