Hoi Hup & Sunway place highest bid at $701 psf ppr on Plantation Close EC site
The tender to build an executive condominium at Plantation Close near Tengah closed on 1 February with four bids. Its closure is synchronized with the closing of Orchard Boulevard’s government land sale site.
Hoi Hup Realty & Sunway Developments have formed a joint venture to bid for the Plantation Close EC property. Their top bid is $423.38million, which translates into a rate of $701 per square foot (ppr) on land.
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The consortium formed by Forsea Holdings (Qingjian Realty) and Forsea Holdings came in second with a bid of $416.89 ($690 psf/ppr). Their bid was only 1.5% lower than that of Hoi Hup or Sunway.
Hoi Hup & Sunway bid $701 psf ppr, which is comparable to a previous land rate awarded last September to the same joint-venture developers. The JV topped a shortlist of nine bidders by winning with a bid of $348.5 Million – a rate of land of $703 psf ppr, a new record for an EC Development Site.
Nine bids came from developers who are well-established, such as City Developments(CDL), Hong Leong DevelopmentsCapitaLand Developmentsand Frasers Property.
Huttons Asia’s director of analytics data, a senior director, says that if Hoi Hup is awarded the newest EC site and Sunway the previous one, the two companies could merge their sites to form a mega EC project, subject to authority approval. Plantation Close EC was able to produce approximately 495 homes, while the latest site has a potential of 560. Combined the result is a 1,055 EC.
MCL Land won both sites, and then merged them into one. The result is the 1,3277-unit Sol Acres. MCL Land was awarded both sites and merged them to form the 1,3277 Sol Acres. The mega EC project launched in 2015 was fully sold. The units sold in the January resale markets ranged in price from $1.376 to $1.504 per sq. ft.
Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research predicts a price range of $1,450 psf – $1,550 psf for an average price.
ERA Singapore CEO says the small price difference between the top and second-highest bids shows developers’ confidence in the future of EC demand. Estimated selling prices could begin at $1500 per square foot based on top bid.
The high developer demand for ECs is a result of a healthy and sustained demand by HDB Upgraders over the past few years. Prices of new suburban houses have risen more rapidly than new ECs in recent years.
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The ABSD is not payable upfront by eligible buyers upgrading their HDB apartment to a new EC, as they are only required dispose of the HDB within six months from receiving keys to their new EC.”
In a report on the 28th of January, the latest sales launch for Lumina Grand showed that 53% (512 units) of its 512 condos were sold at an average S$1,464 psf. Singaporeans know that ECs have similar condo features at a more affordable price. As of Feb 1, there are less than 500 unsold ECs in the market.
Altura, located in Bukit Batok, Avenue 8, sold 61% (220 units) on its opening day, August 2012, at an average price $1,433 psf. As of today, 92% or 332 units have been sold.
Plantation Close’s 99-year leasehold is confirmed for the 2H2022 Government Land Sales (GLS). It is situated on a land surface of 215,689 sf and will produce approximately 560 units.
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This is the 3rd EC site in Tengah that has been released so far. In June 20,21, a joint partnership between CDL Land & MCL Land bought the first EC Site in Tengah at $603 psf ppr. In October 2022 it was relaunched as the Copen Grand, a 639-unit project. The project sold out a month after the balloting of second-timers.
Hutton stated that Plantation Close would benefit from better connectivity after two MRT station (Bukitbatok West, and Tengah Park), on the Jurong Region Line, are completed. This will happen in phases between 2027 and 2030. Tengah Park’s MRT station is just a short walk away and will allow residents to get to Jurong East, the second Central Business District within 10 minutes.
Tengah Integrated Transport and Tengah Blvd Bus Interchange is also in development.
