Residential site at West Coast up for sale

Singapore

A RESIDENTIAL site at West Coast Vale has been put up for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday, which could yield some 595 residential units.

This is the last land parcel to be released under confirmed list of the government land sales (GLS) programme for the first half of 2015. But consultants are divided on how well received this site would be by developers.

CBRE head of research for South-east Asia Desmond Sim noted that given the cutback in residential sites in the GLS programme's confirmed list in the second half of the year, there will likely be healthy interest for this site at West Coast.

Bids should come in excess of S$600 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), he said, adding that some 10-14 bids could be expected for the 18,909 sq m plot - a size he felt was "easy to stomach" for developers.

Though the project is not supported by a strong proximity to MRT, it is nestled in an established precinct for private residential projects, he added.

The land parcel is located along the waterfront of Sungei Pandan and linked to West Coast Highway and Ayer Rajah Expressway. It is also near commercial amenities such as Westgate, Jem and Big Box at the Jurong Lake District, as well as the site of the current Jurong Country Club golf course that will be developed into the Singapore terminus of the high-speed rail (HSR) link with Malaysia.

According to URA, a future development on the site is suitable for families with school-going children since it is near Nan Hua Primary School, Commonwealth Secondary School and The Japanese School. The tender submission date is August 4.

But R'ST research director Ong Kah Seng said that he expects cautious bidding by developers as buyers' sentiments remain weak, pegging his forecast at around five bids with the top bid likely coming in at S$450-$500 psf ppr.

The site is some distance away from Jurong East and Clementi MRT stations. Within the West Coast area, there are resale private housing choices with freehold or 999-year lease tenure, Mr Ong said. There are also competing alternatives in the Jurong and Lakeside areas where a rejuvenation has taken place.

"Leisure-proximity to coast and parks living was a good marketing concept/selling point for West Coast properties but such selling points are quite passé," Mr Ong added.

He believes that the time is over for buyers to gain significant resale price premium from proximity to coastal parks or waterfront living, which was once a unique selling point before the government rejuvenated suburban residential enclaves such as Lakeside, Hillview and Bartley from 2010 and improved connectivity islandwide with the Circle Line.