URA Launches Tender for Two Residential Sites
Two residential development land parcels were launched for sale by the Singapore government in late August 2022 under the Government Land Sale (GL8) program. One of the sites is located at Bukit Timah link and the other is at Hillview Rise. The former is located at the city-fringe Rest of the Central Region (RCR), while the latter is in the suburban Outside of Central Region (OCR). The tv\/o 99-year leasehold sites could
potentially \/yield a total of 495 non-landed housing units when the developments are completed, probably in 2026 or 2027.
The details for the two sites are included in the table below.
Table l: Details of the two GL8 sites
Location Bukit | Bukit Timah Link | Hillview Rise |
Site area | 49,633 sq ft | 111,893 sq ft |
Land use zoning | Residential | Residential |
Plot ratio | 3.0 | 2.8 |
Maximum Gross Floor Area | 148,908 sq ft | 313,305 sq ft |
Estimated No. of housing units | 160 | 335 |
Lease Period | 99 years | 99 years |
Source: URA, ERA Research & Consultancy
Characteristics of the sites
Bukit Timah Link GSL Site
The subject site at Bukit Timah Link is conveniently located near the Beauty World l\/IRT station and the nearby commercial cluster. The Beauty World MRT station is about one meter from the subject site. Retail malls such as Beauty World Plaza, Beauty World Centre, and Bukit Timah Shojobing Centre are just a few minutes' walks from the site.
Furthermore, the subject land parcel is located within 370m of the Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, one of the more popular Primary Schools in Singapore This would enhance the attractiveness of the future residential properties at this GLS site among young families with children.
There is also a nearby major mixed-use residential-cum-commercial project at Jalan Jurong Kecil with a total GPA of l.O39 million square feet (sd ft) that is under development. This major development, which could be named “Beauty \/\/world Residences”, is situated across the road from the subject site. The larger site W615 sold one year ago to Far East Organization & Sino Group at $1.028 billion which translates to a land rate of $989 psf ppr. An estimated 7OO residential units could be
developed in this project.
This upcoming mixed residential-cum-commercial development at Jalan Jurong kechil could be a double-edged
sword to the residential project on the smaller subject site. On one hand, vi/hen "Beauty World Residences” is completed, the residents at the new development on the smaller subject site will enjoy the conveniences provided by the retail amenities and F&B outlets in the commercial portion of the new project.
On the other hand, the future development on this smaller site, which could yield about l6O housing units, could face a major competitor in the form of the upcoming “Beauty World Residences” which is a larger residential project with some 7OO units. Hence, this could deter some developers from bidding in the tender for this site.
However, there are advantages for being small. The smaller subject site is anticipated to attract more small and medium-sized developers due to the lower required financial resources and the lower risk, such as the ease of meeting the 5-year Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) sales deadline.
Comparable at Bukit Timah Links
The comparable condominiums to the condominium site at Bukit Timah Link are as followed.
Table 2: Comparable condos to GLS site at Bukit Timah Link
Most of the new private residential projects in the vicinity are either fully sold or more than 94% of the total number of units in the project are sold.
Hence, the good news to potential bidders for this site is that the launched condominium projects in the vicinity would not bose any competition by the time the new project is launched. probably sometime in 1-H 2024.
However, if there are still a substantial number of unsold units in “Beauty world Residences” by the time the new residential project on the subject site is launched for sale to homebuyers, the latter would face a major neighboring competitor.
Hillview Rise GLS site
The residential GL5 site at Hillview Rise is located next to the Hillview Community Club and about 350 meters from the Hillview l\/IRT Station. The subject parcel is located in the heart of a growing private residential enclave, served by a commercial development, HillV2. Along the same stretch, there is a total of one upcoming project, l\/lidwood, and two older condominiums, The Hillier and Kingsford Hillview Peak. All three condominium projects are fairly large with around 5OO residential units
each.
Among the three, the Midwood project is positioned closest to the subject site. The land parcel was sold in 2Ol8 to Hong Leong Group at the land rate of $1,068 is prior. Based on official data, the residential units in l\/lidwood are sold at a median price of $1,710 psf in 2022.
Comparables at Hillview Rise
Government Land Sales at Bukit Tirnah Link & Hillview Rise Below are the comparable condominiums to the GL5 site at Hillview Rise.
Table 3: Comparable condos to GLS site at Hillview Rise
Project name | Road name | Land tenure | Completio-n Date | Median Price ($psf) | % of units sold | Distance from subject site (metre) |
Midwood | Hillview Rise | 99-year | Uncompleted | $1,710 | 100% | 160 |
Mont Botanik Residence | Jalan Remaja | Freehold | Uncompleted | $1,822 | 99% | 540 |
Dairy Farm Residence | Dairy Farm Lane | 99-year | Uncompleted | $1,686 | 99.8% | 1,340 |
The Hillier | Hillview Rise | 99-year | 2016 | $1,471 | 100% | 170 |
Kingsford. Hillview Peak | Hillview Rise | 99-year | 2017 | $1,383 | 100% | 310 |
Natura @ Hillview | Hillview Terrace | Freehold | 2015 | $1,432 | 100% | 1,120 |
Phoenix Residence | Phoenix Avenue | 99-year | Uncompleted | $1,589 | 83.8% | 1,650 |
Most of the uncompleted residential projects in the vicinity are either fully sold, with the exception of Phoenix Residences which is 83.8% sold. However, Phoenix Residences is some distance (more than 1.6 km) from the subject site and would be fully sold by the time the new condo on the subject Hillview Rise site is launched, probably in 2024.
Developers’ likely response
Rising interest rates and the risk of an economic slowdown are factors that real estate developers would have to manage as part of doing business. However, the risk of running out of development land and inventory for sale is an even bigger headache that could jeopardize the revenue and profit of the developers. Therefore, developers who are still hungry for land would react enthusiastically to these two tenders, which
could result in more than 5 bids for each site.
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