Hong Leong, TID place top bid of S$181.86 million or S$1,755 psf ppr for Orchard plot
Tender for Orchard Boulevard site draws a total of five bids
[SINGAPORE] A plum 99-year private housing site with a coveted Orchard Boulevard address drew five bids at a state tender that closed on Thursday (Oct 29).
The top bid of S$181.86 million, or S$1,755 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), came from a partnership between Hong Leong Holdings unit Intrepid Investments and TID Residential.
The second highest bid, of S$167.85 million (S$1,620 psf ppr), was placed by a fully owned unit of Global Resource Construction (GRC Group). Listed on the Singapore Exchange mainboard, the group is involved in construction, civil engineering and sustainable infrastructure solutions. GRC is largely controlled by the Tang Organization (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng Corporation), which is fully owned by property tycoon couple Gordon and Celine Tang.
Also bidding at the tender was a tie-up involving BBR Development, Mindarie Holding and Quarz Capital Group, which offered S$160.72 million or S$1,551 psf ppr.
A Wing Tai unit bid S$152.39 million or nearly S$1,471 psf ppr for the site.
The lowest bid, S$139.9 million or S$1,350 psf ppr, came from a consortium that includes Macly Group and Roxy Development Partners.
The number of bids received was within the two to eight bids forecast by analysts polled by The Business Times earlier this week.
The top bid was also within the $1,650 psf ppr and S$1,950 psf ppr range that the analysts predicted.
The 37,006 sq ft site can generate about 110 private homes.
“This is one of the few vacant residential sites in the Orchard Boulevard area available for sale,” said Mogul.sg chief research officer Nicholas Mak.
Some property consultants had noted that besides the site’s prestigious district 10 residential location and proximity to the Orchard Boulevard MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, its relatively small scale lowers the financial commitment required. This was expected to widen the pool of potential bidders.
However, some developers may have decided to give Thursday’s tender a miss in view of potential competition from private housing launches in the Core Central Region (CCR) or prime areas.
PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying pointed out that since November 2025, several prime government land sales (GLS) sites have been sold, but the projects on them have yet to be launched.
These plots – in Bukit Timah Road (next to the Newton MRT interchange), Peck Hay Road, River Valley Green (Parcel C), Holland Plain, and Dunearn Road – can potentially offer more than 1,700 new private homes in the CCR.
The nearest 99-year private housing GLS site sold in the locale would be the plot that is being developed into the Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard. Zoned residential with commercial at first storey, the plot is in front of Orchard Boulevard MRT station. It received four bids when its tender closed in 2024. A tie-up between UOL Group and Singapore Land bagged the site for S$1,617 psf ppr.
Before that, the residential plot on which now stands the Cuscaden Reserve project attracted nine bids at a GLS tender in 2018. It was sold for S$2,377 psf ppr.
Tricia Song, CBRE research head for Singapore and South-east Asia, highlighted more recent CCR sites sold at closings in June this year: the Peck Hay Road plot in Newton and River Valley Green (Parcel C), which sold for S$1,865 psf ppr and S$1,730 psf ppr, respectively. Each site received four bids.
A PropNex analysis of data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority downloaded on Thursday showed that 83 per cent or 249 units of the Upperhouse’s 301 units have been sold at an average price of S$3,405 psf since its launch in July 2025.
Of these units sold, 28 were transacted this year at an average price of S$3,599 psf.
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