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SINGAPORE: Despite a noticeable improvement in market sentiments and eased interest rates, real estate experts believe developers will approach the bidding for two new sites under the Government Land Sales (GLS) confirmed list for the second half of 2024 with caution, as reported by Singapore Business Review.

According to PropNex, they generally expect developers to be cautious with their bids for the sites in Lentor and River Valley, considering the upcoming supply of new private homes and the unsold inventory from current projects in those areas.

For the Lentor Garden site, developers are expected to look closely at the demand for new private homes and the number of unsold units from current projects in the area.

The Lentor Hills estate has seen five launches, with 84% of the 2,477 units still unsold.

PropNex thinks the current number of unsold units is manageable and will likely go down by the time the Lentor Gardens GLS site is ready for sale.

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However, they mentioned developers might still be cautious since the existing launches have taken up much of the area’s private housing demand.

OrangeTee, for its part, pointed out that developers may consider other land parcels available for development, as six parcels in Lentor Hills have already been sold.

They noted there could be increased interest in areas like Bayshore and Lorong Chuan, especially since new parcels are expected to be released after years of limited supply.

OrangeTee anticipates one to three bidders for the Lentor site, with the highest bid expected to range from S$950 to S$1,050 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

PropNex has a similar outlook, expecting two to three bids, with the highest bid likely between S$443 million and S$462 million, translating to a land rate of S$950 to S$990 psf ppr.

Meanwhile, Huttons expects one to three bidders for the site, estimating a top bid of S$900 to S$1,000 psf ppr.

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For River Valley Green (Parcel B), Huttons also anticipates developers will approach bidding with caution.

PropNex thought the same, noting developers will be “watchful” of the upcoming supply of new private homes from nearby GLS sites, including Zion Road (Parcel A), Zion Road (Parcel B), and River Valley Green (Parcel A), all of which were sold this year.

Despite this, PropNex believes that River Valley Green (Parcel B) is one of the most attractive sites under the GLS confirmed list for the second half of 2024 because of its prime location.

OrangeTee added that the limited supply of new homes in the area will likely increase demand for this new site once it is available for sale.

OrangeTee expects one to three bidders for the site, with the highest bid estimated between S$1,300 and S$1,400 psf ppr. 

PropNex provided a higher estimate, forecasting two to three bids with a top bid potentially reaching between S$553 million and S$597 million, or a land rate of S$1,250 to S$1,350 psf ppr.

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Huttons shares a similar outlook, anticipating one to three bidders for the site and a top bid between S$1,200 and S$1,300 psf ppr. /TISG

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