Three Government Land Sale (GLS) sites at Dunearn Road, Lakeside Drive and Woodlands Drive 17 have been launched for tender today, according to an April 8 press release by URA and HDB. 

The plots at Dunearn Road and Lakeside Drive are private residential sites, while the plot at Woodlands Drive 17 is an executive condominium (EC) site. All three sites are under the Confirmed List of the 1H2025 GLS programme and have 99-year leasehold tenures. 

The residential site at Dunearn Road has a 144,238 sq ft land area and a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 348,549 sq ft. The site, which has a gross plot ratio of 2.4, is expected to yield 380 residential units. 

The Lakeside Drive site spans 145,314 sq ft and is zoned for residential with commercial at the first storey. The site has a gross plot ratio of 3.6 and can yield 575 residential units and 10,764 sq ft of commercial space. 

The EC site at Woodlands Drive 17 measures 271,328 sq ft. It has a gross plot ratio of 1.7 and can yield 420 units with a maximum GFA of 461,259 sq ft.  

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, expects the three sites to appeal to developers, notwithstanding the “heightened market uncertainties arising from the US tariffs on its trading partners, and the financial market rout in recent days”. 

She believes developers will be attracted to the plots owing to their attractive locations close to MRT stations, while robust new home sales in recent months may compel developers to replenish their land inventory. However, the current market uncertainties may result in a more cautious stance among developers, with bid prices expected to be “relatively measured”, she adds.

The Dunearn Road site is the first private residential site to be offered in Turf City, the future housing precinct on the site of the former Bukit Timah Turf City racecourse. The new estate is earmarked for up to 20,000 new public and private homes that will be developed over the next 20 to 30 years.

Located in the upcoming Stables Commune neighbourhood, the Dunearn Road site is within walking distance of Sixth Avenue MRT Station (Downtown Line). It is also near the upcoming Turf City MRT Station on the Cross Island Line, which is expected to be completed in 2032. 

The last GLS tender in the area occurred seven years ago for the site of the 476-unit Fourth Avenue Residences, says Mark Yip, Hutton Asia’s CEO. Allgreen Properties paid $533 million or $1,540 psf per plot ratio (ppr) for the plot in 2017. 

Fourth Avenue Residences also marked the last private residential launch in the area, with units sold at a median price of $2,406 psf, notes Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. Consequently, he anticipates substantial pent-up demand for homes in the area, supported by its location within the coveted Bukit Timah area and its proximity to popular schools such as Methodist Girls’ School.

PropNex’s Wong expects developers to show keen interest in the site to leverage on first-mover advantage within Turf City. She predicts the tender for the Dunearn Road site may draw five to six bids, with the top bid projected at $1,400 to $1,500 psf ppr.

Wong anticipates the Lakeside Drive site to also generate healthy interest, owing to its location. Situated in the Jurong West area, the site is adjacent to Lakeside MRT Station on the East-West Line.

The site at Lakeside Drive has a land area of 145,314 sq ft with a gross plot ratio of 3.6 (Source: EdgeProp Landlens) 

“We think the future homes to be built on the Lakeside Drive site may be popular with homebuyers, given that it is steps from the MRT station, within walking distance of Jurong Lake Gardens, and a stone’s throw from the JLD [Jurong Lake District], which will be the largest mixed-use business district outside the city centre,” Wong explains.

The future development could also see strong demand as the last project launch in the area, the 710-unit Lake Grande, was nearly a decade ago, observes Justin Quek, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie. 

He adds that over 2,000 four- and five-room HDB flats in Jurong West reached their minimum occupation period between 2021 and 2023, potentially signifying a robust pool of upgraders that would boost take-up rates for the new project.

Quek anticipates between five and eight bidders for the Lakeside Drive site, with the highest bid ranging from $1,050 to $1,150 psf ppr.

ERA’s Chu points out the limited supply of new private homes in JLD. “Across the three new developments available for sale — J’den (93.8% sold), The Lakegarden Residences (71.6%) and SORA (41.6%) — there are only 360 units remaining,” he says.

 The EC site at Woodlands Drive 17 measures 271,328 sq ft and is within walking distance of Woodlands South MRT Station (Source: EdgeProp Landlens) 

Developers could show considerable interest in the Woodlands Drive 17 EC site, given scarce fresh EC supply in the immediate vicinity, says ERA’s Chu. He notes that the Woodlands area has not seen an EC launch in almost a decade, with the most recent being Northwave in 2016. “This could compel developers to bid competitively to seize the opportunity in plugging the supply gap in this market,” he adds. 

That said, the tender closing for the Woodlands Drive 17 site will coincide with the Senja Close EC site that was launched last month. This could result in more diluted interest that translates to moderate bidding activity, Chu opines. The Senja Close EC site can yield about 295 units.

Huttons’ Yip notes that the Woodlands Drive 17  site is near the Woodlands South MRT Station, which is one train stop away from the Woodlands Regional Centre and two stops from the Rapid Transit System Link. This, combined with a large number of primary schools within a 1km radius, could draw buyers, including HDB upgraders. He estimates four to six bidders for the site, with a top bid of between $700 and $750 psf ppr. 

The tenders for the Lakeside Drive, Dunearn Road and Woodlands Drive 17 sites will close on June 3, June 26 and Aug 5, respectively.

Winchamp Investment, a subsidiary of Wing Tai Holdings, submitted the highest bid of $464 million for the 99-year leasehold government land sales (GLS) site at River Valley Green (Parcel A). Wing Tai’s bid for the 100,009 sq ft site translates to a land rate of $1,325 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

The tender attracted one other bid from Hong Realty, a subsidiary of Hong Leong Group, which put in a bid price of $444.89 million or $1,271 psf ppr.

River Valley Green (Parcel A) has a plot ratio of 3.5 and a maximum gross floor area of 350,035 sq ft, and the new development could yield up to 380 units. The site is adjacent to Great World City MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line and it is close to Great World City.

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, points out that Wing Tai’s bid of $1,325 psf ppr is higher than the $1,202 psf ppr that City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Mitsui Fudosan submitted for another GLS site on Zion Road in April.

“Despite being the smallest site in terms of land area among the four GLS sites that the government has made available for tender in the River Valley and Zion Road areas, as well as its proximity to the Great World City Mall and MRT station, this site drew only two bids” says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. He adds: “This seems to indicate that developers are treading carefully when acquiring land”.

Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, concurs and he cites the high interest rate environment and prevailing cooling measures for the “continued lack of appetite” from developers to bid for some available GLS sites.

Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, adds that developers would have to consider the impact that the potential supply of 1,300 new homes from the recently awarded site at Zion Road (Parcel A) and another GLS site at Zion Road (Parcel B), whose tender closes next month, before deciding to throw their hat in the ring.

Another nearby site at River Valley (Parcel B) is on the Reserve List - if it is triggered and awarded, it could potentially inject an additional 360 homes and 220 long-stay serviced apartments (SA2).

Recent new projects in the vicinity include the Irwell Hill Residences, a 540-unit development by CDL, and The Avenir, a 376-unit freehold project developed by Hong Leong Holdings, Guocoland, and Hong Realty. According to URA caveats, Irwell Hill Residences is 99.6% sold and The Avenir is fully sold.

If the site is awarded to Wing Tai based on the land rate of $1,325 psf ppr, the developer could face an estimated breakeven costs ranging from $2,300 psf to $2,500 psf, says Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research at JLL.

The government land sales (GLS) tender for the site at Orchard Boulevard closed on Feb 1 with four bids. The highest bid of $428.28 million, or $1,616 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), was submitted by a joint venture between UOL Group and Singapore Land Group (SingLand).

The top bid of $1,616 psf ppr is just 2.46% higher than the next highest bid of $1,578 psf ppr submitted by Allgreen Properties.

The 75,686 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site at Orchard Boulevard is zoned for residential development with commercial use on the first storey. The site has a maximum gross floor area of 264,911 sq ft and could be developed into a residential project with 280 units.

"This is the first residential land parcel released in the Orchard/Tanglin area since 2018," says Liam Wee Sin, group chief executive of UOL Group. "The site has very attractive locational attributes and a direct MRT connection to the Orchard Boulevard station."

Orchard Boulevard MRT Station connects the site to the Thompson-East Coast line. (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua / EdgeProp Singapore)

According to Liam, UOL and SingLand intend to develop the site into a high-rise luxury condo of 36 storeys, "capitalising on the panoramic views".

"This is the strongest bid for land in the CCR [Core Central Region] and Orchard Road area in the past five years," says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. "It reflects developers' growing confidence in the CCR, buoyed by the strong results and prices achieved at Watten House."

The 180-unit, freehold Watten House is located on Shelford Road, off Dunearn and Bukit Timah Roads in prime District 11. The project previewed in November 2023, and to date, 120 units (67%) have been sold at an average price of $3,241 psf, based on caveats lodged as of Feb 1.

The future development will be directly linked to the Orchard Boulevard MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line. The prime District 10 site is also within walking distance of Tanglin Mall and other prime malls as well as luxury hotels in the Tanglin Road, Cuscaden Road and Orchard Road enclave.

Cuscaden Reserve is a 192-unit 99-year leasehold residential property which completed in 2023. (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua / EdgeProp Singapore)

The last GLS site sold was just across the road. At the close of the tender in April 2018, there were nine bids. The highest bid submitted for the 61,597 sq ft site was $410 million ($2,377 psf ppr) by a consortium of SC Global, New World Development and Far East Consortium, which won the site.

The new 99-year leasehold luxury development, the 192-unit Cuscaden Reserve on the GLS site, was completed just last year. To date, 12 units have been sold at an average price of $3,625 psf, based on caveats lodged to date. The highest psf price achieved was for a 1,163 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that fetched $4.452 million or $3,830 psf in June 2022.

UOL and Singapore Land's bid of $1,617 psf ppr for the Orchard Boulevard GLS site is 32% below the $2,377 psf ppr paid for the Cuscaden Reserve site six years ago, notes Leonard Tay, head of research, Knight Frank Singapore. "Today's tender reflects the additional risks that developers have to undertake, as well as the increased additional buyer's stamp duty for foreign buyers in conjunction with the increased costs of development," he says.

Notably, UOL developed the 71-unit, 99-year leasehold Orchard Bel-Air, which sits next to the GLS site at Orchard Boulevard and the MRT Station. In January 2023, Orchard Bel-Air was relaunched for collective sale at a guide price of $587.5 million ($2,620 psf ppr), but no successful buyer emerged. 

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The tender for the Government Land Sales (GLS) site at Jalan Anak Bukit closed on June 29 with five bids received. The 3.22 ha land parcel is zoned for a mixed-use residential and commercial development integrated with a transport hub. The tender is based on a two-envelope system. The URA will first evaluate the bids received based on their proposed concepts. Once shortlisted, the URA will open the second envelope to review the bids, and the highest of these bids will be awarded the site. (See also: Two residential GLS sites at one-north launched for tender)

Far East Organization (FEO) and its Hong Kong-based sister company Sino Group submitted three different bids through their various entities, FE Landmark, FEC Residences Trustee, and FEC Retail Trustee. They are the only ones who submitted multiple bids. All three bids are a 50:50 joint venture between FEO and Sino Group. 

Source: URA

“With the most number of bids submitted under the two-envelop system, FEO is determined to win the site,” remarks Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. He observes that it’s the same strategy that FEO and Sino Group used when they submitted three bids for the Holland Village mixed-use GLS site, which was also conducted under a two-envelope tender system. And they won the site with a bid of $1.21 billion in May 2018. Under construction now is the new scheme, One Holland Village. 

Kuok Group's Allgreen Properties and Kerry Properties submitted a bid for the Jalan Anak Bukit GLS site through its entities Dragon Commercial and Dragon Residential. The joint venture between Allgreen and Kerry Properties won the GLS  white site at Pasir Ris in March 2019. It will be launched as the upcoming Pasir Ris 8, a mixed-use development with a mall and residences integrated with the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange.

The remaining bidder for the Jalan Anak Bukit site was a joint venture between Wing Tai Holdings’ entity Winchoice Investment; and Perpetual (Asia), in its capacity as the trustee of Mercatus Commercial Trust, which is in turn, linked to Mercatus Co-operative Ltd, the real estate subsidiary of NTUC Enterprise. 

“The upside for the three bidders is that there is now less competition, says Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.  “And one bidder has submitted three bids to increase its chances. The market will be looking forward to a design concept that will distinctive for that part of Upper Bukit Timah.”

The response to the Jalan Anak Bukit GLS site pales in comparison to recent GLS tenders, for instance the site at Northumberland Road which attracted 10 bids at the close of its tender in April, and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, which closed with15 bids in May. 

“I expected about five to eight bidders,” says Nicholas Mak, head of research & consultancy at ERA Realty. “The response could be a signal that most developers are not keen to participate in concept and price revenue tenders.” 

The Jalan Anak Bukit GLS site will be turned into an integrated transport hub with residential and commercial elements. (Source: URA Space)

JLL’s Ong agrees. “Although the subject site has the potential of being a landmark development, the tender participation is below expectations,” he says. “The timing is awkward as large projects with longer completion periods create more uncertainty for developers due to the construction delay that has resulted from the pandemic.”

The site is expected to yield gross floor area (GFA) of more than a million sq ft. Hence, the total development cost will be large as the land cost alone is expected to exceed $1 billion. These factors are likely to increase the risks for developers, notes Ong. “And it appears that the majority would rather not take the risk,” he adds.

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There are only five existing integrated transport hubs that are connected to residential developments, with three more in the pipeline, namely The Woodleigh, Pasir Ris 8 and Sengkang Grand. “The residential properties linked to integrated transport hubs usually command a premium due to their accessibility and conveniences for residents,” says ERA’s Mak. 

The new residential project at Jalan Anak Bukit is expected to yield about 845 units, and Mak expects the units to be launched for sale at about $2,300 to $2,500 psf.  

This is comparatively higher to the median price of recent residential projects linked to integrated hubs that have been launched.

However, the Jalan Anak Bukit site “is set to be the centrepiece that will kick start the government’s rejuvenation plan of the Beauty world area,” notes Huttons’ Yip. 

A majority of the commercial buildings in the area were built in the 1970s and 1980s, for instance Beauty World Centre, Beauty World Plaza and Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. “The area is ripe for redevelopment and requires an injection of new commercial concepts to better serve the residents,” adds ERA’s Mak.

Check out the latest listings near Pasir Ris 8, The Woodleigh, Sengkang Grand, Beauty World Centre, Beauty World Plaza, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Pasir Ris MRT station