GuocoLand and Hong Leong Group’s joint venture has emerged as the sole bidder for the 99-year leasehold residential government land sale (GLS) site at Lentor Gardens after the tender closed today, submitting a bid of $486.8 million. Translating to an estimated land rate of $985 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), the two entities are looking to develop a new high-end residential project with around 533 units and 600 sqm of childcare facilities.
This is the first residential GLS tender to see only one bid since the tender of the Silat Avenue GLS site in 2018, which a consortium led by UOL Group won for $1.035 billion. The 1,074-unit Avenue South Residences was launched in September 2019 and is now fully sold.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, notes that the bid of $958 psf ppr is the lowest for a land parcel in the Lentor precinct. The $586.6 million bid for a GLS site at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel A) in January 2022 translates to $1,060 psf ppr, while the top bids for Lentor Central and Lentor Hill (Parcel B) were $481.03 million ($1,108 psf ppr) and $276.36 million ($1,130 psf ppr) respectively.
These two land parcels can yield about 470 and 265 units respectively, while the Lentor Gardens site has the potential to bring in 530 units. Steven Tan, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie, believes that the eventual launch at the site could see units priced around $1,950 to $2,050 psf.
The Lentor Gardens site is within walking distance of the Lentor MRT station and close to Thomson Nature Park and Yio Chu Kang Stadium and Sports Complex. Additionally, it is also about 1km away from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, which should be attractive to parents of school-going children.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, points out that all seven residential sites in Lentor – the five that have now been sold and the two still available for sale – could potentially bring about some 3,500 new units to the area, equating to almost 11,000 new residents.
This may deter developers from bidding given the possible oversupply of homes and the risk of being slapped with Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty if they are unable to sell all units within five years, given the current economic outlook.
GuocoLand is set to launch the 598-unit Lentor Hills Residences, developed by GuocoLand, Hong Leong Holdings and TID. It follows GuocoLand’s launch of the 605-unit Lentor Modern integrated development last September, which is now 88% sold at an average price of $2,104 psf.
Two other GLS sites at Lentor are available for sale under the 1H2023 GLS Programme; a site at Lentor Central, capable of yielding 475 units, is expected to be launched for tender this month, while a 500-unit residential site at Lentor Gardens is listed on the Reserved List.