Top bid for Irwell Bank Rd plot below expectations

Singapore

THIS year's maiden state land tender for two 99-year leasehold private housing sites appears to reflect developers' still-healthy appetite for land, despite the substantial launch pipeline.

In terms of top bids, however, the two plots delivered a mixed performance.

City Developments' bid of S$1,515.10 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) was the top bid for the 3.6-hectare plot in Irwell Bank Road near Great World City (District 9) - below the S$1,600-to-S$1,800 psf ppr range forecast for the top bid for this site indicated by property consultants polled by The Business Times before the tenders closed at noon on Thursday.

On the other hand, the top bid for the other plot - a trapezoidal strip of land in Jalan Bunga Rampai, near Bartley MRT - was within expectations.

Wee Hur bid S$885.33 psf ppr, within the S$850-to-S$1,050 psf ppr range (but on the lower end of the range) forecast by consultants.

Commenting on the top bid for the Irwell Bank Road plot, JLL senior director of research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui said it "seems to have priced in some softening in (end-unit) sale prices, possibly due to the more challenging prime sub-market".

The 3.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop based on the Q4 2019 flash estimate for URA's price index for non-landed private homes in the Core Central Region, where this site is located, would have weighed on the minds of bidders, he added.

In contrast, the top bid for the Bartley plot suggests that sale prices remain stable, possibly due to a more positive outlook in the Rest of Central Region where this site sits, he added.

A seasoned market watcher who declined to be named estimates CDL's bid for the Irwell Bank Road site would result in a breakeven cost of about S$2,200 to S$2,300 psf - against the estimated S$2,700 psf average price that a new 99-year leasehold project on the site would be able to fetch today if its developer wants decent sales.

Wee Hur's bid for Bartley plot is likely to translate to a breakeven cost of S$1,400 to S$1,450 psf - against the estimated S$1,500 to S$1,600 psf a new project could launch for the site in the current market. The 0.47-hectare plot can yield about 115 residential units.

In all, the site drew nine bids. Wee Hur's top bid was 16.6 per cent higher than the next highest bid of S$759.34 psf ppr by Sim Lian Land. Nanshan Group Singapore teamed up with a company owned by the husband-and-wife team of Zuo Haibin and Li Minghua to place the third highest bid of nearly S$742 psf ppr. Other bidders included a tie-up between Qingjian Realty (Residential) and Octava (S) Property Investments (S$741 psf ppr); Sing Holdings (S$736 psf ppr); Chip Eng Seng (S$711 psf ppr).

TID Residential placed the lowest bid of S$550.40 psf ppr.

The Irwell Bank Road land parcel drew seven bids. CDL's price was 4.2 per cent above its closest rival - a consortium comprising Far East Organization, Sino Group and Sekisui House.

CDL's group chief executive, Sherman Kwek said the group's proposed plan is to develop a pair of 36-storey blocks with about 580 residential units and a basement carpark. He said the bid was in line with the group's "selective land replenishment strategy" after launching six residential projects last year, which enjoyed positive take-up. The Irwell Bank plot will boost CDL's presence in the River Valley/Grange Road locale.

The other bids for the Irwell Bank plot came from Frasers Property (S$1,370 psf ppr); a UOL-United Industrial Corporation tie-up (S$1,350 psf ppr), GuocoLand (S$1,292 psf ppr), Japura Development, linked to Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong empire (S$1,189 psf ppr). Wing Tai's Winvale Investment placed the lowest bid of S$1,063.60 psf ppr).

ERA Realty's head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said of the provisional tender results: "Based on the tender bids submitted today, it appears that some developers are still hungry for land, but they are bargain hunting."

Christine Li of Cushman & Wakefield said: "The bidding results are a testament that there is no exuberance in the residential market in view of the current economic outlook."