Wing Tai, Metro outbid 5 others for Dunearn Road site with bullish S$1,625 psf ppr bid at just under S$533 million

[SINGAPORE] The second Bukit Timah Turf City site to be released by the government drew heated competition from developers on Tuesday (Apr 28), with Wing Tai and Metro’s construction arm, Metrobilt Construction, coming out on top with its S$1,624.89 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) bid. 

Their top bid of just under S$533 million for the prime Dunearn Road land was 3 per cent higher than the next highest bid of S$517 million or S$1,576.13 psf ppr from a Frasers Property-led consortium, which had clinched the first Dunearn site tendered in June 2025 at S$1,410 psf ppr. 

This was followed by China Overseas Land & Investment (Coli) Singapore with a bid of S$501.9 million or S$1,530.09 psf ppr; City Developments Limited came in not far behind at S$501.4 million or S$1,528.44 psf ppr. 

In fifth place were UOL, Singapore Land and Kheng Leong, with a S$500.6 million offer or S$1,526.28 psf ppr. 

The lowest bid, at S$485.5 million or S$1,480.01 psf ppr, was from Hong Leong and GuocoLand.

The tender bids were at the higher end of estimates by analysts polled by The Business Times earlier this week, who expected top offers coming in between S$1,350 and S$1,650 psf ppr.

Consultants had anticipated fairly strong participation for the Dunearn Road plot after the adjacent site garnered nine bids in June 2025. It was the best turnout since September 2021 for a private residential site, excluding executive condominium plots, in a government land sales (GLS) tender.

Nearby, a Holland Link site attracted five bids when the tender closed in July 2025, wtih the highest offer of S$1,432 psf ppr from Sim Lian Group. 

The Dunearn Road GLS plot on offer was expected to draw equally firm demand, given its location in prime District 10 and improving market for new homes in the Core Central Region. 

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Developers who lost out in earlier GLS tenders were also to return with fresh bids. 

Observers added that plot’s “palatable” size of 19,041.6 square metres (sq m) – which can generate around 330 units – could further broaden participation. 

But some cautioned that rising construction costs and potential interest rate movements, amid ongoing Middle East tensions, could rein in bids.  

Located a stone’s throw from Sixth Avenue MRT station, the Dunearn Road land parcel has a maximum gross floor area of 30,467 sq m.

Of this, at least 600 sq m will be set aside for a childcare centre and a maximum of 1,400 sq m for commercial spaces on the first floor, including a supermarket of at least 1,000 sq m.

The last condominium launch in the Dunearn Road plot’s vicinity was Fourth Avenue Residences in 2019. Caveats data showed 25 resale transactions in the 99-year leasehold project in the past year, at a median price of S$2,540 psf. 

Most recently, on Apr 1, a 710 sq ft unit changed hands at S$1.9 million or S$2,674 psf. 

Other private homes in the area are mostly freehold developments. These include Floridian, Maplewoods, The Cascadia, The Nexus, The Sixth Avenue Residences, The Tessarina and RoyalGreen, which transacted at median prices of S$2,186 psf to S$2,772 psf in the past year.