Tender for EC site at Tengah’s Plantation Close launched; applications open for EC site at Tampines St 95

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

November 30, 2023 3:03 PM SGT

The site at Plantation Close is next to another EC site, at Plantation Loop, that was jointly awarded to Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments in September this year.

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HDB has launched two executive condo (EC) sites for sale. The first site is located at Plantation Close in Tengah under the Confirmed List of the 2H2023 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The other site at Tampines Street 95 falls under the Reserve List of the 2H2023 GLS programme and is open for application.

The 215,609 sq ft EC site at Plantation Close is expected to yield approximately 560 new residential units. The new development will be close to the future Tengah MRT Station on the Jurong Region Line and the master planned Jurong Lake District.

The site at Plantation Close is next to another EC site, at Plantation Loop, that was jointly awarded to Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments in September this year. The developers won the site after submitting the top bid of $348.5 million, which translates to a land rate of $703 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

EdgeProp estimates that if the GLS site is awarded at $429 million, the new development could have a selling price of at least $933 psf. (Map: EdgeProp Singapore)

The record bid for an EC site to date is $721 psf ppr when Sim Lian Land and Sim Lian Development submitted an eye-watering $543.28 million for an EC site at Tampines Street 62 in October.

Market research from Huttons Asia indicates that there are fewer than 300 unsold EC units available in the market. “While the supply of land for EC development has been stable in meeting demand, developers might want to note that there will be three EC launches in 2025, with two of these in Plantation Close,” says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia.

Justin Quek, deputy CEO of OrangeTee&Tie expects that most developers will be emboldened by the strong take-up rates at nearby ECs. “Copen Grand along Tengah Garden Walk is fully sold and Altura at Bukit Batok West Ave 8 is about 87.5% sold with 45 remaining units,” he observes, adding that there is sufficient time between upcoming EC launches in the vicinity to alleviate developers’ concerns.

Meanwhile, the tender for the other EC site at Tampines Street 95 will only be launched when a developer submits an acceptable minimum price to the government, after which a public tender for the site will be launched. The 242,014 sq ft site is close to Tampines West MRT Station on the Downtown Line and Temasek Polytechnic. The potential new development could yield 560 new EC units.

The EC site at Tampines Street 95 is on the reserve list and needs to be triggered for the tender to be launched. (Map: EdgeProp Singapore)

Lee of Huttons Asia says that developers will likely wait for the list of GLS sites in the 1H2024 GLS programme before deciding whether to trigger this reserve list site for tender. “Tampines has seen several BTO launches in the past few years, and this represents a large pool of potential upgraders looking to move to an EC,” he says.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty, expects “intense competition” among developers for these two EC sites. “Of the four EC sites sold in Bukit Batok and Tengah since 2021, each site drew an average of seven bids. The strong demand for EC units among buyers has steered more developers to participate in EC GLS tenders,” he says.

Data published by PropNex Realty also shows that GLS EC tender land rates have been steadily climbing since 2016. “In view of the rising land rate, the median unit price of ECs has been creeping up, first breaching the $1,000-psf mark in 2Q2019, and has hit new highs since — crossing $1,460 psf in 3Q2023, with sales at Altura EC propping up prices,” says Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex.

GLS EC tender land rates ($psf ppr) by tender award date, research by PropNex Realty.

She expects that the Plantation Close EC site could attract six to eight bids, with the top bid potentially ranging from $417 million to $429 million — translating to a land rate of $690 psf ppr to $$710 psf ppr. “Given that the site is in a brand-new estate and the oncoming EC supply (estimated to be 495 units) from the adjacent Plantation Close EC plot that was awarded in September 2023, we do not think this latest EC site will rewrite the record land rate set by the Tampines St 62 (Parcel B) plot, which is in a more established and mature neighbourhood,” says Wong.

The tender for the Plantation Close EC site will close on Feb 1, 2024. It will be batched with the GLs site at Orchard Boulevard that was launched for sale by URA in October.

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