In times when predictions are hard to make, as incertitude governates the background of many industries, the sale of two governmental land parcels managed to surprise everyone. Although it was not expected for developers to jump in making considerable investments, taking into account the unstable real estate market, these two land sales managed to stir interest beyond the prediction of specialists. We are talking about parcels located on the Yishun Avenue 9 and Tanah Merah Kechil Link.
The URA and HBD released a 99-year lease for parcels located at the previously mentioned addresses, as part of the government land sale program. The parcel on Yishun Avenue could bring 600 new homes, a fact that made bidders go as much as $374 million for this opportunity. On the other hand, the Tenah Merah Kechil Link provides, besides an approximate number of 265 residential units, a 2000 square meters commercial space, on the first story of the future development. This made developers bid up to $249 million for the change to invest here. Of course, before announcing the official winner, the authorities will have to closely evaluate each bid and development proposal.
Why were these bids so special? According to analysts, the bidding war for these two parcels managed to exceed all expectations. The land parcel in Tenah Merah Kechil Link, which has a surface of 8,880 square meters and is close to the Tenah Merah MRT station, managed to attract no less than 15 different bidders. The commercial and residential site on Holland Road was the last to attract this many bidders back in 2018. Also, it is one of the highest bids that happened in the last 18 months. So, no wonder everybody was surprised about how this bid went by.
The site on Yishun Avenue is much larger, covering a surface of 21,514 square meters, and it is destined to house an executive condominium. It also managed to attract many bidders, more precisely seven. The highest bid was offered by the Sing Holdings company, with a value of $373.5 million. The Snowsuite Consultancy’s executive chief, Mr. Karamijit Singh, said that the success of these bids was because both parcels appeal to the masses. And in the market’s sector characterized by the majority of the homebuyers is still marked by a high demand for homes.
According to the experts, the upcoming new launch condo at Tenah Merah Kechil Link could be ready for launch in 2021. It is expected that by then, both the economy and real estate market will be recording signs of recovery. The site on Yishun got a public tender extension of 6 months, due to the current state of the pandemic. This is obviously an exception, considering that the period of a regular tender is between 6 and 8 weeks. But, up until this point, we are used to meeting the unusual, as we have to adapt to what is going on around us. All in all, these two surprising bids can be regarded as signs that people didn’t lose their hope that things will get better soon. They are not afraid to invest and make plans, whether we are talking about developers or homebuyers. Let’s just hope their dreams will come true shortly.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/two-govt-land-sale-sites-draw-keen-interest-from-bidders
