A site at Lentor Gardens in Singapore, which can yield about 530 residential units, closed its tender today with a joint bid from GuocoLand and Intrepid Investments of $486.8 million, which translates to a land rate of $985 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The 99-year leasehold site is the first residential GLS tender to draw just one bid since 2018’s Silat Avenue tender. Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, noted that this is the lowest success bid for a site in the Lentor area.
Recently, 598-unit Lentor Hill Residences by GuocoLand, Hong Leong Holdings and TID (a joint venture between Hong Leong Holdings and Mitsui Fudosan) was sold for $586.6 million ($1,060 psf ppr). GuocoLand successfully launched the 605-unit Lentor Modern integrated development last September, where 84% of units were sold on launch weekend. To date, the project is 88% sold at an average price of $2,104 psf and was purchased for $784.1 million ($1,204 psf ppr).
Two other GLS sites at Lentor are available for sale under the 1H2023 GLS Programme, one of which is expected to be launched for tender this month. This site at Lentor Central can yield up to 475 units. The other site is on the Reserved List and has the potential to yield up to 500 units.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, believes that all seven potential sites could bring about some 3,500 new units, or 11,000 new residents, to the Lentor area. He highlighted the site’s connectivity to public transport and recreational facilities, which would make it attractive to potential homebuyers.
The nearby Lentor MRT station, Thomson Nature Park, Yio Chu Kang Stadium and Sports Complex and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School should also be attractive to potential buyers. Steven Tan, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie, believes the eventual launch of the site could see units priced around $1,950 to $2,050 psf.
With the downward trend in bids at the Lentor area, it will be interesting to see how much the new launch at Lentor Gardens will attract and whether it will contribute to the economic outlook in the area.