CapitaLand-UOL Group tops bid for mixed-use development plot at Hougang Central with $1.5 bil bid or $1,179 psf ppr
The 504,825 sq ft site is zoned for “commercial and residential use”, with a gross floor area of 1.273 million sq ft (Photo: EdgeProp Landlens)
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The tender for the 99-year leasehold mixed-use Government Land Sales (GLS) site at Hougang Central closed on Dec 16, with three bids. The top bid of $1.5 billion, or $1,179 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), came from joint venture partners UOL Group, CapitaLand Development (CLD), and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT).
If awarded, UOL and CLD will jointly develop the residential component of the site for sale, while CICT will develop and retain full ownership of the commercial component.
"It is set to become a major civic hub for community events and activities, featuring a sheltered public event space and F&B offerings that add to the area's vibrancy," according to the consortium in a joint statement. "With around 830 residential units and about 300,000 sq ft of net lettable area for retail and lifestyle offerings, the project will be the largest mall in Hougang and a key anchor for future growth in the precinct."
Tan Choon Siang, CEO and executive director of CICT, adds that the project marks the firm's first in the northeastern part of Singapore and is expected to strengthen its positioning "as the proxy for high-quality commercial real estate in Singapore".
The top bid land rate for the Hougang Central plot is higher than that of recent mixed-use sites awarded, notes Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, suggesting strong developer confidence in the private housing market, particularly for integrated developments. She points to the Chencharu Close site, which fetched a land rate of $980 psf ppr in September 2025; the Tampines Street 94 site (Pinery Residences), which was sold for $1,004 psf ppr in October 2024; and the Tampines Avenue 11 plot (Parktown Residence), which achieved a land rate of $885 psf ppr in July 2023.
The joint venture partners, CapitaLand and UOL Group, are also the developers behind the 1,193-unit ParkTown Residence, a mixed-use development at Tampines Street 62 with a mall, linked to Tampines North MRT Station (Cross Island Line). Launched in February this year, the project is 93% sold at an average price of $2,359 psf.
The tender for the Hougang Central GLS site was launched in May. It is a 504,825 sq ft site zoned for “commercial and residential use”, with a gross floor area of 1.273 million sq ft. The site can be developed into a new project with the potential to yield around 835 residential units and a mall with 430,556 sq ft of commercial space. It is directly linked to Hougang MRT Station, which will be an interchange for the North-East and Cross Island Lines by 2030. It will also be linked to the bus interchange.
"This is the first such mixed-use development integrated with a transport hub in the area, and will serve the larger Hougang Town," says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. Hougang is the third-largest town along the North-East Line, after Sengkang and Punggol, he adds.
There are also plenty of amenities nearby, such as Hougang Stadium, Hougang Sports Centre, Punggol Park and Punggol Community Club. Montfort Junior School is just across the site, while schools such as CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity and Holy Innocents' Primary School are within 1km.
The CapitaLand-UOL joint venture’s bid is 2.06% higher than the second-highest bid of $1.47 billion ($1,155 psf ppr) from Sim Lian Group. The third bid of $1.4 billion ($1,100 psf ppr) was submitted by a consortium comprising Frasers Property, Sekisui House and Lum Chang.
“The narrow 2.1% price gap between the top two bids indicates shared confidence among developers in the potential of the Hougang Central site," says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. As the latest flagship development in the Northeast region, the project is well-placed to capitalise on pent-up demand, he adds.
He expects the new residential project at Hougang Central to attract both HDB upgraders and landed right-sizers, given that it's the first private residential GLS plot launched in Hougang in over a decade.
The last GLS residential site awarded near the Hougang Central plot was the Lorong 1 Realty Park. The tender attracted 11 bids at the time, and was awarded in June 2017. It has since been developed into the 53-unit Parkwood Collection landed housing project, which was fully sold in 2022, according to PropNex.
The last GLS site in the area to be sold for a mixed-use development was the plot at Upper Serangoon Road, which was awarded to Hong Kong developer CK Asset Holdings (formerly Cheung Kong Property) in November 2014. The developer paid $276.8 million, or $845 psf per plot ratio, for the site. It was subsequently developed into the 390-unit Stars of Kovan, comprising a mix of private condominium units, strata-terraced houses, and ground-floor shops. The project was completed in 2019.
Hence, it has been 11 years since the last GLS site zoned for mixed-use development was released for sale, says Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion (OrangeTee and ETC) Group. Moreover, there have only been two new non-landed project launches in Hougang since 2022 – Jansen House and Kovan Jewel, both boutique condominiums nestled within landed housing estates. As such, Quek expects keen interest in the new project at Hougang Central when it is launched.
The last significant new condo projects launched in the neighbourhood were redevelopments of former privatised HUDC estates purchased en bloc, notes PropNex's Wong. They include the 1,410-unit The Florence Residences (former Florence Regency) in 2019, and the 1,472-unit Riverfront Residences (former Rio Casa) in 2018. Both projects are fully sold. "We expect the future Hougang Central project to enjoy healthy demand from homebuyers, including HDB upgraders in nearby Hougang and Sengkang HDB towns," she notes.
According to HDB, there are close to 60,000 dwelling units in the Hougang estate as of 31 Mar 2025, which makes for a substantial pool of HDB upgraders.
Moreover, HDB resale prices of newer (less than 20 years) 4-room and 5-room flats in Hougang have reached median prices of S$675,000 and S$830,000, respectively, in Jan-Nov 2025, which will also support HDB upgraders looking to buy private property, notes Realion's Quek.
Mohan Sandrasegeran expects the selling price for the new project at Hougang Central to be in the range of $2,500 to $2,600 psf, given that it's a mixed-use development integrated with a transport hub and the first of its kind in the area. Likewise, PropNex's Wong expects the average selling price for the future project to be above $2,500 psf.
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