Lukewarm response to latest URA land tender

Two plots of land for residential development at Fernvale Road have attracted lukewarm response from developers at the close of tender on Thursday (Aug 7).

 

The two adjacent plots were put up for sale on June 26 under the batch tender closing system, which is aimed at ensuring more prudent bids from developers.
 

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said Land Parcel A has attracted four bids. The top bid for Parcel A came from CEL Development and Unique Residence at $234.9 million. It is a joint venture led by Chip Eng Leong Development. The 99-year leasehold site measures about 16,604 square metres.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Land Parcel B has received three offers, with the top bid also coming from CEL Development and Unique Residence at $252.1 million. This plot has a site area of about 17,414 square metres.

The top bids for both land parcels work out to a weighted average land price of $443.38 per square feet per plot ratio (psf ppr) and the break-even cost is estimated to range from $850 to $890 psf. The two adjacent plots were put up for sale on June 26 under the batch tender closing system, which is aimed at ensuring more prudent bids from developers.

SLP International Property Consultants Executive Director for Research and Consultancy Nicholas Mak said in a statement: "Altogether, the two sites at Fernvale Road can potentially add a large number of housing units, around 1,100 to 1,200 units, to the supply. This will create a large influx of residential supply in the neighbourhood. Hence, the developments on Parcels A and B may take a longer time to sell all their units."

URA said it will announce its decision on the tender award at a later date. 

Source: CNA

 

So it looked like developers are definitely more cautious when come to bidding of land parcels these days. The wife and I did some checking and found that the average land price for this combined parcels is lower than the land prices of nearby residential parcels sold to developers last year. The site of Riverbank @Fernvale went for $489psf ppr and the Rivertrees Residences plot fetched $533psf ppr.

 

We wonder if this is likely to be the trend for the short to medium term, i.e. fewer bidders coming in with more conservative bids for suburban plots. This is because of the deluge of new private homes expected in the suburban regions over the 1 - 2 years.