Tampines, Segar Road EC sites up for tender

Analysts say interest in the two executive condo plots will probably be tepid

Published October 6, 2010
By UMA SHANKARI

THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) has released two more executive condominium (EC) sites - one at Tampines Avenue 8 and the other at Segar Road - for sale by tender.

The sites, which together can yield 1,095 units, are being launched under the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales programme for second-half 2010.

Analysts say interest in the two plots will probably be tepid - given five EC sites have already been sold this year and the tender for another site at Pasir Ris closes on Oct 21.

Of the two new sites, the Segar Road parcel in the Bukit Panjang area can yield a maximum gross floor area of 673,000 sq ft. Around 570 flats can be built on this plot.

The tender closes on Dec 2 and analysts see a top in the region of $200- $250 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The other site, at Tampines, can yield a maximum gross floor area of 621,000 sq ft and an estimated 525 units can be built on it.

Analysts expect it to fetch $220-$280 psf ppr when the tender closes on Nov 23.

HDB is rolling out sites as demand for the first EC development to be offered to home-buyers since end- 2004 - Esparina Residences at Sengkang - is proving to be strong.

Developer Frasers Centrepoint said it had received close to 1,000 applications for the 573-unit project by Oct 3.

MCC Land will start to preview its 406-unit EC project - The Canopy, at Yishun - this weekend. Units are expected to be priced at $600-$700 psf.

However, developer interest in EC sites has cooled progressively as 2010 has passed.

The first two EC sites to be offered this year - Esparina Residences and The Canopy - drew 11 and 10 bids respectively when the tenders closed in March.

But the three EC sites sold subsequently have drawn fewer and fewer bids.

A site at Sengkang drew seven bids when the tender closed in May.

And two other sites at Punggol drew five and four bids when the tenders closed in June and September.

'At the pace the government is pushing out EC sites, either the bids will get lower or we may even get a situation with no bids at all,' said Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International Property Consultants.

The tender for an EC site at Jurong West closed in August with no takers.

Looking ahead, the Urban Redevelopment Authority intends to roll out two new sites for private residential developments at Punggol and Seletar roads this month.


Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg