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On March 18, the tender for the first private housing Government Land Sale (GLS) site in the upcoming Bayshore precinct closed, with a total of eight bids received. The 99-year leasehold site, which spans 112,992 sq ft and can yield about 515 units, is located on Bayshore Road, next to the Bayshore MRT Station.
The top bid of $658.89 million was submitted by SingHaiyi-Garnet, a joint venture between SingHaiyi Group and Haiyi Holdings, a company controlled by Celine and Gordon Tang, who hold the majority shareholding in SingHaiyi. This translates to a land rate of $1,388 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
SingHaiyi’s bid was only 0.82% higher than the second-highest bid of $653.53 million ($1,377 psf ppr) submitted by Sing Holdings. City Developments came in third with a bid of $620.8 million ($1,308 psf ppr), which was 5.3% lower than Sing Holdings’ bid. According to OrangeTee & Tie CEO Justin Quek, the high bid prices submitted exceeded initial expectations and may indicate confidence in the potential of the site.
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Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, notes that this is the highest number of bids for a private housing GLS site since January 2022, when a Jalan Tembusu plot (now the site of Tembusu Grand) also attracted eight bids. He also believes that developers may have held back from bidding for other GLS sites in order to pursue this Bayshore site, as the strong sales in the past few months have increased the need to replenish their land bank.
Other bidders for the Bayshore Road site included a Frasers Property-led consortium, Kingsford Development, and a Hoi Hup Realty-Sunway Developments joint venture. The bids ranged from $1,252 psf ppr to $1,285 psf ppr. The two lowest bids came from a consortium comprising of Hong Leong Holdings, TID, and CSC Land Group ($500.68 million or $1,055 psf ppr) and Sim Lian Group ($485 million or $1,022 psf ppr).
ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu notes that the sizeable gap of 36% between the lowest and highest bids received for the Bayshore Road site reflects mixed market sentiments among bidders. He also highlights that SingHaiyi’s bid of $1,388 psf ppr sets a new benchmark for outside central region (OCR) land prices, surpassing the previous threshold of $1,250 psf ppr paid by MCL Land and CSC Land Group in November 2023 for the site of the recently-launched Elta, located at Clementi Avenue 1.
Wong Siew Ying, PropNex’s head of research and content, adds that this new OCR benchmark rivals the land rates of some GLS sites in the central region. Last year, Zion Road Parcels A and B in the rest of central region were awarded at $1,202 psf ppr and $1,304 psf ppr respectively, while the Holland Drive and River Valley Green (Parcel A) sites in the core central region sold for $1,285 psf ppr and $1,325 psf ppr, respectively.
The future project at the Bayshore Road site will be the first private residential development in the new Bayshore precinct, which sits on a 60-ha estate between East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Upper East Coast Road. Approximately 10,000 homes have been earmarked for the area, with 30% designated for private housing.
Huttons’ Yip observes that the Bayshore Road GLS site is likely the best site in the Bayshore precinct as it offers a sea view and doorstep access to Bayshore MRT Station. In addition to various new amenities that will be constructed in the neighbourhood, the area also stands to benefit from long-term development plans, such as the Long Island coastal protection project that will add reservoirs and parks fronting the Bayshore area, says Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research.
According to PropNex’s Wong, there have been no significant private condo launches in the Bayshore area for decades. Existing condos in the vicinity include The Bayshore, which launched in the 1990s, and Costa Del Sol, which hit the market in 2000. As a result, there may be pent-up demand for new private housing in the area, including from HDB upgraders in the nearby Marine Parade and Bedok estates. Wong believes that developers were keen to gain a first-mover advantage in the area, which contributed to the high number of bids.
Based on the top bid of $1,388 psf ppr, Wong predicts that the future development at the Bayshore Road site could see an average selling price of over $2,600 psf. Meanwhile, Knight Frank’s Tay believes prices at the upcoming project could start from $2,700 psf and average above $2,800 psf.