Category Archives: Property Market / Real Estate

URA’s Serangoon Ave site likely to draw strong bids

Posted on 10 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on URA’s Serangoon Ave site likely to draw strong bids

Higher expectations follow robust bids at Dakota Crescent tender this week

URBAN Redevelopment Authority yesterday launched the tender for a 99-year condo plot at Serangoon Ave 3. Market watchers expect top bids to be towards the upper band of the range of prices they predicted two weeks ago when URA first revealed it had received a successful application for the site, which was in the reserve list.

Launched: The Serangoon Ave site is next to Lorong Chuan MRT Station and near the Australian International School

The revision follows the strong showing at Tuesday’s state tender for a condo plot at Dakota Crescent, which drew 13 bids. URA said yesterday it has awarded the land parcel to UOL Development (Novena) Pte Ltd, which placed the highest bid of about $329 million or $508 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

URA also announced an Oct 7 closing date for the tender of the latest plot at Serangoon Ave 3, next to Lorong Chuan MRT Station and near Australian International School.

A fortnight ago, property consultants polled by BT generally predicted top bids for the plum site to be in the $350-450 psf ppr range, with resulting breakeven costs of about $700-850 psf and target selling prices of $800-1,100 psf on average.

Yesterday, DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah predicted the highest offer for the land parcel will probably be towards the $450 psf ppr mark.

Colliers International executive director (investment sales) Ho Eng Joo too is betting that the winning bid will be around the $400 psf ppr level, or the higher end of the $350-$400 psf ppr price band he predicted earlier. Continue reading →

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Bids for Dakota Crescent plot soar above expectations

Posted on 10 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Bids for Dakota Crescent plot soar above expectations

UOL Group bid tops 12 others as developers vie for choice piece of land

The result of yesterday’s tender for a plum condo plot at Dakota Crescent shows just why the government recently raised the ‘definite possibility’ that it will restart confirmed list land sales from next year.

A total of 13 bids were received, reflecting developers’ voracious appetite for mass-market and mid-tier private housing land.

The top bid from UOL Group was above market expectations of about $420-450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) just a few days ago. UOL’s price yesterday was slightly more than $329 million or about $508 psf ppr – just 3 per cent shy of the $524 psf ppr that Ho Bee and NUTC Choice Homes paid during the peak in June 2007 for the plot next door on which they are developing Dakota Residences, which has achieved an average selling price of about $970-980 psf.

However, after taking into account changes in planning regulations since then, whereby planter boxes and bay windows are not exempted from gross floor area calculations, UOL’s bid yesterday is probably higher than the equivalent 2007 bid for the next-door plot, some market watchers say.

BT understands that UOL is gunning for a high proportion of smaller units in its proposed scheme, and thus push for a higher average selling price of about $1,000-1,050 psf. ‘They should be able to achieve this kind of psf price – so long as they keep the absolute price quantum within an affordable range,’ an industry observer said.

BT understands UOL’s breakeven cost will be about $920 psf. Continue reading →

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