Condo site tender in Bishan attracts record 19 bids

By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 24 February 2011 2048 hrs
Condominiums in Singapore

SINGAPORE: A 99-year leasehold land site for condominium housing in Bishan has attracted a record 19 bids at the close of its tender by the Housing & Development Board (HDB), the highest number of bids in 12 years.

This is just one bid higher than the Simei Street 3 land site tender in May last year. The site has since been developed into the My Manhattan by CEL Development.

The highest bid came from CapitaLand at S$550.1 million or S$869 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) submitted through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bishan Residential Development.

CapitaLand's bid is 27 per cent higher than the second highest bidder Keppel Land Realty, which submitted a bid of S$432.3 million.

"This indicates the developer's very bullish outlook for the residential market in Bishan," said Nicholas Mak, executive director of research at SLP International.

The land parcel is in the reserve list of the government land sales or GLS programme. It is considered one of the GLS programme's most attractive sites for the first half of this year.

Located at Bishan Street 14, the site is a short walk to Bishan MRT Station and Junction 8 shopping mall. Nearby schools include Catholic High School and Raffles Institution.

The land has a size of 11,997 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 58,800 square metres with a gross plot ratio of 4.9.

CapitaLand said in a statement that it plans to build a condominium which is at least 36 storeys with 600 units.

"Based on caveats lodged between October 10 to January 11, units in Centro Residences at Ang Mo Kio Central were sold at S$1,200 psf to S$1,400 psf," said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research.

"The winning bid for the Bishan site suggests that the developer is looking to sell the units at around S$1,400 psf," said Mr Li.

Menawhile, Mr Mak added that the break even cost for the project will be about S$1,290 to S$1,320 psf, which is about 30 per cent more than the resale prices of existing condomiums in Bishan.

He added that the high number of bidders indicate that many developers share the same land acquisition strategy - to buy prime development sites near MRT stations or to have an iconic product.

"They do this in the hope to hedge against the risk of oversupply of non-landed units that could be developed from other GLS sites," said Mr Mak.

-CNA/ac