The Peck Hay Road GLS site (in blue) is less than a five-minute walk away from the Newton MRT Interchange. (Photo: EdgeProp LandLens)
The tender for the Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Peck Hay Road closed on June 11, attracting four bids, with a joint venture between City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Hong Realty (part of Hong Leong Group) emerging as the top bidder.
The joint venture submitted a bid of $542.4 million, or $1,865 psf per plot ratio (ppr), for the prime residential site. The bid was 8.4% higher than the second-highest bid of $500.19 million ($1,720 psf ppr) from a joint venture between Sunway MCL Land and CSC Land Group.
If CDL and Hong Realty are awarded the site, the JV plans to develop a 39-storey residential tower with approximately 380 units, according to a press release. The site is strategically located within the prime Newton residential enclave, notes Sherman Kwek, CDL’s group CEO.
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“Given the site’s close proximity to Orchard Road, excellent MRT connectivity and access to key amenities, the project is well-positioned to meet the aspirations of discerning homebuyers," says Kwek. "As Newton evolves into a distinctive mixed-use urban precinct with enhanced green connections, public spaces and heritage elements, we look forward to shaping the precinct’s next phase of transformation with a distinctive residential landmark that is thoughtfully integrated with the wider urban fabric.”
The third-highest bid came from China Overseas Land & Investment at $460.26 million ($1,583 psf ppr), followed closely by a joint venture between Hong Leong Holdings and TID, which offered $459.48 million ($1,580 psf ppr).
Launched under the 1H2026 GLS programme, the Peck Hay Road site spans 59,347 sq ft and has a maximum gross floor area of 290,811 sq ft.
The winning bid of $1,865 psf ppr is 2.5% higher than the land rate of $1,820 psf ppr paid by HH Investment, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Huang Hsiang Construction, for the Bukit Timah Road GLS site last November, notes Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group.
Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, believes the $1,820-psf ppr land rate for the Bukit Timah Road site served as a reference point and could have provided a degree of pricing support for the Peck Hay Road tender. "With both plots garnering fairly comparable land rates, it may help to guide market expectations regarding future launch prices in that locale," she adds.
That tender for the Bukit Timah Road GLS site drew eight bids, compared to four bids for the Peck Hay Road site. Both sites are situated in the Newton area of prime District 9.
Read also: GLS sites at Berlayar Drive and New Upper Changi Road launched for tender
Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, attributes the lower number of bids for the Peck Hay Road site to another Core Central Region (CCR) site at River Valley Green (Parcel C), which is currently open for tender and will close on June 18. "Some developers may have had to evaluate their bidding strategy across the two sites," he says. "The competition between the two concurrently open CCR sites could have led to more moderate bidding activity.”
Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, attributes the lower bids this time round to renewed tensions in the Middle East, which could have influenced developers' sentiment. He expects developers to remain mindful of the broader uncertainties facing the global economy.
"As a result, some may have adopted a more cautious stance during the tender process, preferring to preserve financial flexibility while monitoring geopolitical developments in the coming months," says Sandrasegeran.
According to Chu, the land rate of $1,865 psf ppr is the second-highest GLS bid for a residential-only site, after the Cuscaden Road site awarded in May 2018 for $2,377 psf ppr, which has since been developed into the 192-unit Cuscaden Reserve. Based on the land cost for Peck Hay Road, ERA expects the new development to have an average selling price of at least $3,500 psf.
Meanwhile, PropNex's Wong projects that the average selling price for the future development at Peck Hay Road will exceed $3,400 psf.
CBRE's head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, Tricia Song, expects the new project to debut at an average price of $3,450 - $3,550 psf.
Read also: Tenders for Peck Hay Road and River Valley Green GLS sites launched, totalling 785 residential units
Knight Frank Singapore's head of research, Leonard Tay, expects the new project to launch at prices averaging in the $3,700 psf to $3,900 psf range, "depending on how the developer designs and shapes the product and schedules the launch vis-a-vis prevailing market conditions in about a year’s time".
According to Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, developer appetite for CCR sites has strengthened considerably over the past 18 months. GLS sites in the CCR have attracted an average of 5.7 bids during this period, compared with an average of three bids in 2024.
Yip attributes the renewed confidence to the strong take-up rates achieved at recent CCR launches, including the 460-unit River Green, which sold 88% of its units last August; the 666-unit Skye at Holland, which moved 99% of its units at launch last October; and the 455-unit River Modern, which achieved 90% sales in March 2026.
Overall, steady absorption of new homes in the CCR has reduced the launched but unsold inventory to 900 units based on URA's monthly developer sales data in April 2026, notes Realion, which is below the 1,569 units in the Rest of Central Region and 1,312 units in the Outside Central Region. "Against a backdrop of healthy demand and a relatively tighter supply pipeline, developers may have been more inclined to compete for prime CCR land parcels," says Quek.
In 1Q2026, foreign purchasers accounted for 28 new non-landed home transactions in the CCR, up from 16 units in the 4Q2025. Although transaction volumes remain relatively modest, the increase suggests that demand from foreign buyers has not disappeared entirely and could gradually improve should global uncertainties persist, notes SRI's Sandrasegeran.
"With Singapore attracting overseas ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and the government's plans to bring in up to 70,000 high-quality new citizens and permanent residents annually, demand for new CCR homes is expected to remain sustained," says Huttons' Yip.
He adds that the limited future supply of CCR sites may also have supported bidding sentiment. There are only two CCR sites under the 2H2026 GLS programme, expected to yield a total of 720 units — about 32.4% fewer than the 1,065 units released under the 1H2026 GLS programme. "This, in turn, could have driven interest in the Peck Hay Road site."
Several GLS sites have already been sold in Dunearn Road, Holland Plain, Holland Link and Bukit Timah Road (see table below). The two upcoming CCR plots in the 2H2026 are located at Orchard Boulevard and Holland Plain, says PropNex's Wong.
The Peck Hay Road site is located less than a five-minute walk from Newton MRT Interchange, which serves the North-South and Downtown lines, and is also near Anglo-Chinese School (Junior).
Under URA's 2025 Master Plan, the area surrounding Newton MRT Interchange is slated to evolve into an "urban village". Peck Hay Road is expected to be at the heart of this transformation, which will see around 5,000 new homes introduced across Newton Circus, Scotts Road and Monk's Hill, alongside new mixed-use developments and enhanced amenities that complement the existing Newton Food Centre.
The closest 99-year comparable is Kopar at Newton, with a similar scale of 378 units, launched in March 2020, says CBRE's Song. There have been 12 resale transactions in 2026 so far, with a median price of $2,538 psf.
Another newly completed nearby project is the freehold Pullman Residences Newton, which is also of a similar scale with 340 units, points out Song. It has seen only two transactions in 2026 so far, at a median price of $3,011 psf.
Other older nearby 99-year projects, such as Orchard Scotts, Rochelle At Newton and Amaryllis Ville, each saw just three transactions in 2026 at median prices of $1,928 – $2,067 psf.
Over at prime Orchard Boulevard, Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard was launched in July 2025 and has since sold 240 or 79.7% of its 301 units at a median price of S$3,317 psf.