Top bid of $177.4m for residential site in Petir Rd

SINGAPORE - The appetite for land among developers seems unabated, if the bids for a residential site at Petir Road are anything to go by.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced yesterday that the land parcel near Bukit Panjang had attracted nine bids by the close of the tender.

The 99-year leasehold site, with an area of 22,777 sq m and a maximum gross floor area of 47,763 sq m, can yield about 430 flats.

Wincheer Investment put in the highest bid of $177.4 million, or $345 psf per plot ratio. The next highest bid, from Sim Lian Land, was $173.8 million. The lowest bid was $103 million.

CBRE Research director Leonard Tay said "the quantum of the bids indicates that the developers are optimistic about the location of this site", which he says is about 10 minutes' walk from the Pending LRT station.

The development will also be a short drive away from the Hillview station when the Downtown Line 2 MRT project is completed in 2015, added Mr Tay.

Analysts said the number of bids received was higher than expected. This suggests that the Government's property market cooling measures will not hold back developers from bidding for sites which they believe offer good value.

Still, Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International Property Consultants, noted: "About a third of the bids are relatively low, indicating that some developers are hoping to acquire land at a low price in order to hedge against any potential fall in property prices in the near future."

CBRE's Mr Tay reckoned that "units in this new residential project will possibly sell for above $800 psf", pointing out that units at the nearby Tree House condominium were going for an average of $830 psf when launched in April.

The URA said it will award the tender after the bids have been evaluated

Source: http://www.todayonline.com