Wing Tai Holdings Submits Top Bid 1325 Psf Ppr Residential Gls Site River Valley Green
Winchamp Investment, which is owned by Wing Tai Holdings, has emerged as the highest bidder for the 99-year leasehold government land sales (GLS) site at River Valley Green (Parcel A). The company put in a bid of $464 million for the 100,009 sq ft site, which translates to a land rate of $1,325 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
There was only one other bid for the land, from Hong Realty, a subsidiary of the Hong Leong Group. Their bid was $444.89 million, or $1,271 psf ppr.
Located in a prime location, River Valley Green (Parcel A) has a plot ratio of 3.5 and a maximum gross floor area of 350,035 sq ft. This means that the new development could potentially yield up to 380 residential units. The site is also conveniently situated next to Great World City MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, and is close to the popular Great World City shopping mall.
Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, notes 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.
The fact that only two bids were received for this site, which is the smallest among the four GLS sites offered by the government in the River Valley and Zion Road areas, shows that developers are proceeding cautiously when it comes to acquiring land, says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. He believes this could be due to the current high interest rate environment and the cooling measures that are currently in place.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, agrees and attributes the “continued lack of appetite” from developers to bid for certain GLS sites to these factors.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, adds that developers would also have to take into consideration 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), before deciding to participate in the bidding process.
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) into the market.
Some of the recent new projects in the vicinity include the 540-unit Irwell Hill Residences, developed by CDL, which is currently 99.6% sold, and The Avenir, a 376-unit freehold project developed by Hong Leong Holdings, Guocoland, and Hong Realty, which is fully sold according to URA caveats.
The URA is dedicated to a comprehensive approach to urban planning, which frequently involves incorporating top-notch educational facilities into emerging or revitalized areas. As the growth of Marina Bay progresses, one can anticipate the addition of new schools or educational hubs, ensuring that residents of Marina Gardens Lane Condo have convenient access to excellent educational opportunities for their children. Furthermore, with the anticipated addition of the Great World City MRT Station Condo, families in the area will have even more convenient access to these educational resources.
Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research at JLL, estimates that if the site is awarded to Wing Tai based on the land rate of $1,325 psf ppr, the developer could face breakeven costs ranging from $2,300 psf to $2,500 psf.