HH Investment tops eight bids for Bukit Timah Road GLS site at $1,820 psf ppr
A map showing the location of the Bukit Timah Road Government Land Sale site (Picture: EdgeProp LandLens)
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The tender for a Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Bukit Timah Road closed on Nov 11, drawing eight bids. HH Investment emerged as the highest bidder, submitting an offer of $566.292 million, which translates to $1,820 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The company is the Singapore subsidiary of Taiwan's Huang Hsiang Construction Corp. It is also the developer of Balmoral Place, a 28-unit freehold apartment on Balmoral Crescent in District 10 that was completed in 2000.
Source: URA
This is the highest price psf ppr paid for a GLS site in the Core Central Region (CCR) since April 2018, when SC Global, together with New World Development and Far East Consortium, paid $2,377 psf ppr for a GLS site on Cuscaden Road, says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. The site was developed into the 192-unit Cuscaden Reserve.
HH Investment's bid for the Bukit Timah Road site is 12.3% more than the second-highest offer of $504.38 million ($1,621 psf ppr), submitted by a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments. Other offers include bids from Wing Tai Holdings ($1,555 psf ppr), a CapitaLand Development-Mitsubishi Estate Asia consortium ($1,555 psf ppr) and China Overseas Land & Investment ($1,481 psf ppr).
The lowest bid, from CK Asset Holdings, stood at $408 million, or $1,311 psf ppr. There is a 38.8% difference between the highest and lowest bids.
The tender for the Bukit Timah Road GLS site was launched in late August. Spanning 63,498 sq ft, the 99-year leasehold site is estimated to yield 340 housing units. It was launched for sale as part of the 2H2025 GLS programme and is the first site in a new Newton neighbourhood that will be developed over the next 10 to 15 years, notes Huttons' Yip.
The site is situated next to Newton MRT Station, which serves as an interchange for the Downtown and North-East Lines. It is also close to schools such as Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and St Joseph’s Institution Junior.
Based on the land price of $1,820 psf ppr, future launch prices at the site could potentially be around $3,400 psf to $3,600 psf, Yip reckons. PropNex head of research and content, Wong Siew Ying, is also projecting the selling price to be around $3,600 psf.
The latest new launch nearby is the 301-unit UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard, notes Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group. Private previews in July saw nearly 54% of the units snapped up over one weekend at an average price of $3,350 psf. To date, the project is 70.4% sold at an average price of $3,366 psf, based on caveats lodged to date.
At eight bids, this makes the Bukit Timah Road site "one of the most popular tenders in 2025 to date", observes Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. The Dorset Road GLS site received nine bids in October, while the Dunearn Roads GLS site received eight bids in July 2025, which is on par with the number of bids received for the Bayshore Road GLS site in March, she says.
"The resurgence in the CCR sub-market in the second half of 2025 could also have encouraged developers to bid more actively, potentially viewing the site as an opportunity to tap into the market's upswing," says Wong of PropNex. According to PropNex, an estimated 1,865 new private homes in the CCR have been sold this year, based on URA Realis data as at Nov 2. The figure far surpasses the 378 new units in the CCR sold for the entire 2024.
Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, believes the renewed developer interest aligns with Newton's ongoing rejuvenation under the URA Draft Master Plan 2025. The neighbourhood is envisioned as a vibrant mixed-use precinct with improved liveability and enhanced greenery. "Developers are seizing the opportunity to anchor themselves early in a precinct poised for growth, leveraging the broader recovery in the CCR," he says. "It also signals confidence in [Newton area's] potential as a renewed luxury residential enclave."
Excluding GLS sites, there are only two GLS sites open for tender, with another six sites set for launch in the 2H2025 Confirmed List, points out Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. Of these eight sites, only the Dunearn Road GLS site scheduled for launch in December is located within the CCR, he adds. "Developers who are unsuccessful in their current bids may turn their attention to upcoming sites slated for launch in the coming months, including Dover Road, Tanjong Rhu Road and Kallang Avenue."
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