URA puts up two prime condo sites in Newton, River Valley for sale

[SINGAPORE] The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday (Apr 9) released two prime residential sites in the Core Central Region (CCR) for sale – one at Peck Hay Road and another along River Valley Green.

Market watchers expect stiff competition for both sites, with each tender drawing up to eight bids amid robust demand for CCR homes. 

The two 99-year leasehold parcels are on the confirmed list of the first-half 2026 government land sales (GLS) programme.

Confirmed list sites are launched according to schedule regardless of demand. Sites on the reserve list, on the other hand, are put up for tender only when a developer makes an offer acceptable to the government.

The Peck Hay Road site – just a stone’s throw from Newton MRT station – is slated to house 315 new private residential units. It spans 5,513.5 square metres (sq m) with a maximum gross floor area of 27,017 sq m and gross plot ratio of 4.9.

It is the second GLS plot to be launched for tender in the new 26-hectare neighbourhood in Newton. 

URA previously said in June that the new residential precinct is envisaged to be a “vibrant, mixed-used urban village”. It will house about 5,000 new private homes in three main clusters at Newton Circus, Scotts Road and Monk’s Hill. 

The first state land plot that was put on the market – at Bukit Timah Road – attracted eight bids at tender closing in November 2025.

The top bid of S$566.3 million or nearly S$1,820 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) came from HH Investment, a Singapore-incorporated company owned by members of the Liao family behind Huang Hsiang Construction Corp of Taiwan.

SEE ALSO

Frasers Property, Mitsubishi Estate JV pips CDL with S$610.75 million top bid for Kallang plot

High per square foot prices of new condos could be increasingly irrelevant to buyers

Shophouse sales in Kampong Gelam have ‘declined sharply’ in recent years, most buyers local: URA

Strong turnout predicted

The land rate of S$1,820 psf ppr was the second highest for a pure-residential GLS site in the CCR since a Cuscaden Road plot – where Cuscaden Reserve now sits – was sold for S$2,377 psf ppr in May 2018, PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying noted. 

She predicts a strong turnout for the Peck Hay Road site, with six to eight bids and a top offer of around S$1,650 to S$1,750 psf ppr, given the tight supply of new homes in the area.

The last two projects, The Atelier and Klimt Cairnhill, were launched in 2021. They have since sold out.

Strong sales at recent new launches in the prime CCR may also boost developer confidence, said Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group. 

ERA CEO Marcus Chu noted that the freehold Newport Residences has sold 74.8 per cent of its 246 units and the 99-year leasehold River Modern over 90 per cent of its 455 units despite a “short sales window” in the first quarter.

PropNex’s Wong said: “Some of the developers who missed out on the earlier Bukit Timah Road tender… might be keen on the Peck Hay Road plot.”

“Developers may also try to secure the site in order to gain an early entry advantage in the new housing precinct,” she added.

Last in the area

Meanwhile, the 11,516 sq m River Valley Green (Parcel C) plot is expected to yield 470 homes. It is located beside Great World MRT station, with a maximum gross floor area of 40,306 sq m and gross plot ratio of 3.5.

ERA’s Chu noted that the River Valley plot will be the last in Great World’s vicinity, which could pique developers’ interest. 

In February 2025, the neighbouring River Valley Green (Parcel B) site – where River Modern now sits – garnered five bids. The highest came from GuocoLand at S$627.8 million or S$1,420 psf ppr. 

The adjacent River Valley Green (Parcel A) plot was bagged by Wing Tai at S$464 million or S$1,325 psf ppr in a June 2024 tender that drew just two bids. It now houses River Green, which saw a take-up rate of 88 per cent at an average price of S$3,130 psf when it launched for sale in August 2025. 

Since then, another nearly 5 per cent of units were sold, taking the overall take-up rate to 92.6 per cent as at end March with an average price of S$3,144 psf. 

Other recent launches in the River Valley area have seen fairly strong sales and an average price of over S$3,000 psf, Wong noted.

This includes Promenade Peak with nearly 70 per cent of units sold at S$3,023 psf and Zyon Grand with 88.4 per cent of units sold at S$3,059 psf; and River Modern with 91.4 per cent of units sold at S$3,270 psf. 

Useful pricing benchmark

These projects set a useful pricing benchmark for developers, indicating the price points homebuyers are willing to pay for homes in the area, said Wong. 

Demand for the new River Valley condo is likely to come from public housing upgraders from the nearby Queenstown estate, which recorded 173 transactions of over a million-dollars in 2025, Chu said. 

There could also be investment demand for smaller, “more affordable” units, given the “strong and sustainable tenant pool” in the area, he added. 

With a palatable size of about 470 units, Quek reckons that the overall price quantum will remain within developers’ risk appetite. He therefore projects four to six bidders at tender close and a top offer of S$1,500 psf ppr to S$1,600 psf ppr. 

The tender for the Peck Hay Road and River Valley Green (Parcel C) sites will close on Jun 11 and 18, respectively.