History was made in Queenstown recently when its land parcels reached a whooping bid of $1 billion and knocked the old record right off the map. This was the first ever incident of a completely residential area belonging to the program covered by the Government of Land Sales (GLS) to hit that mark of $1 billion dollars.
Nanshan Group and Logan Property were the two Chinese organisations to put in the massive bid of $1.003 billion for the site down Stirling Road that is 21,109 sq miles. Making this bid 8.3% higher in value in comparison to the $925.7 million, which was the second highest bid from MCL Land in that category. The previous record that was set for a residential area was in 1997 and that totalled to an amount of $682.8 million, which was then transformed into the Costa Del Sol Condominiums.
The rather large plot in Queenstown is actually the combining of two adjoining sites in that location and this site has been on reserve by GLS since March of 2010. It was finally put up for bidding last month, when a developer promised a sum of $685.25 for the land parcels in Queenstown.
Theoretically speaking the maximum floor area permissible is 954,328 sq ft, however the bidding for a field of 13 transfers to an amount of $1,050 per sq ft – to a plot ratio (psf). Which is above most analyst’s expectations when it comes to bidding for an area anywhere between $830 and $1,000 psf.
The head of the South East Asian research team at the Edmund Tie and Company, Dr. Nai Jia commented saying that due to the sites ideal location, the high bids were indeed reasonable. Since it is in close proximity to Buona Vista, where a lot of growing industries are located for instance pharmacies and R&D departments. This appeals to the people who work in the central business district and East Jurong, making the rental catchments very substantial. Dr. Nai noted. Even though other developments in the area can be seen, it is quite possible that these units will be sold off by the time these existing new condos in Queenstown launches.
Head of International Property Consultants and Research at SLP Mr.Nicholas Mak stated that the high bid for this area has set an all-time record for Queenstown. ‘’this high bid is very impressive because of the fact that it is 20.6% higher when compared to the land price (New Launch Condo, Queens Peak) it established when it was under MCC Land in June of 2015’’ he further stated that the project will be launched around the middle of next year for a price above $1,780 psf.
Ms. Christine Li who is the research Director at Cushman and Wakefield, commented saying that the Chinese developers seem to be taking a big interest in investing in Singapore. ‘’ seeing as how Nanshan has become very active in the real estate market during the last couple of years by having taken part in some eight tenders out of the eleven in total last year alone. For Logan however it is their first entry into the Singaporean real estate market and due to the collapse of the Banda Malaysia deal, investors will definitely be looking to invest in Singapore’s direction.
Looking for new launch in Queenstown? Look out for the upcoming Margaret Ville and Stirling Residences.
Other upcoming developments in Singapore
Nearby condo that will obtain TOP next year
