A map showing the Chuan Grove site (bottom, outlined in black). It is next to another GLS site that is currently up for tender (Picture: EdgeProp LandLens)
The tender for a Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Chuan Grove closed on July 8, drawing seven bids. A joint venture between Sing Holdings and Sunway Developments submitted the highest bid $703.6 million, or $1,376 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).
In a filing to the Singapore Exchange, Lee Sze Hao, CEO of Sing Holdings, says that if awarded the site, the joint venture plans to develop a residential project comprising three high-rise towers with approximately 550 units. It will also have "full facilities and community-centric features", he adds.
The joint venture’s bid was 7.3% more than the second-highest bid of $655.5 million ($1,282 psf ppr) submitted by City Developments (CDL). The third-highest bidder, Sim Lian Group, submitted a bid just $500,000 less than CDL’s, translating to $1,281 psf ppr.
Read also: Second Chuan Grove GLS site launched for tender
Response to the Chuan Grove site beat expectations, according to Tricia Song, head of research for Southeast Asia at CBRE. “Despite slowing home sales and ongoing trade uncertainty, the tender for Chuan Grove today drew better-than-expected bids and top bid price, signalling developer confidence in the location,” she remarks.
The seven bids received for the Chuan Grove site maintain the momentum of recent GLS tender closings, notes Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research. On June 26, a GLS plot at Dunearn Road drew nine bids, while a tender for a GLS site at Lakeside Drive closed on June 3 with six bids. Before that, a GLS site at Bayshore Road garnered eight bids upon tender closing in March.
Property consultants also observe that the $1,376 psf ppr top bid for Chuan Grove marks the second-highest bid price ever for an Outside Central Region (OCR) land parcel, below the $1,388 psf ppr paid by SingHaiyi Group for the Bayshore Road site.
Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion Group, adds that the price is only 2.4% lower than the Dunearn Road parcel, located in the Core Central Region, which was awarded to Frasers Property, Sekisui House and CSC Land Group on July 3 at $1,410 psf ppr.
The top bid also exceeds the $1,360 psf ppr paid by CDL, Frasers Property and Sekisui House for a site at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 (now The Orie) in November 2023, despite the latter being in the Rest of Central Region, notes Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore.
The Chuan Grove GLS site is located along Chuan Grove off Lorong Chuan in District 19. Measuring 170,409 sq ft, the 99-year leasehold site is within 400m of Lorong Chuan MRT Station on the Circle Line, which is one stop away from the Bishan and Serangoon MRT interchanges. It is also close to malls such as NTP+, Bishan Junction 8 and Nex, as well as several schools.
The Chuan Grove plot is one of two residential GLS sites that have been launched for sale in the area. A neighbouring plot, which can yield about 505 units, was launched for tender in May, with the tender slated to close on Sept 4.
Besides the Chuan Grove site’s strong locational attributes, developers were likely encouraged by the robust sales at Chuan Park, notes Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex. The 916-unit development launched in November 2024 and shifted 76% of units during the launch weekend at an average price of $2,579 psf. Kingsford Development, the developer of Chuan Park, also participated in the Chuan Grove GLS tender, submitting the fourth-highest bid of $639.57 million ($1,251 psf ppr).
Chuan Park is a redevelopment of a former condo of the same name, which Kingsford purchased en bloc in 2022 for $890 million. Prior to Chuan Park, there had been no new condo launches in the Lorong Chuan area since The Scala, which launched in 2010, adds Gafoor. Based on the top bid, he believes that the future project at the Chuan Grove site could see average selling prices above $2,700 psf.
With Chuan Park already over 83% taken up to date, the project is likely to be sold out by the time the project at the Chuan Grove site hits the market, predicts Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc. “This would result in limited unsold inventory in the surrounding area, creating a supply gap that Chuan Grove could strategically fill,” he continues.
Sandrasegeran anticipates average launch prices for the future project to fall within the $2,700 psf to $2,800 psf range.