Two Jiak Kim Street GLS sites attract 10 bidsThe tender for the first private residential site in the upcoming Bayshore precinct closed on March 18, attracting a record eight bids. The 99-year leasehold site, which spans 112,992 square feet and can yield approximately 515 units, is located on Bayshore Road next to the Bayshore MRT Station. According to Justin Quek, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie, the highest bid of $658.89 million was submitted by SingHaiyi-Garnet, a joint venture between SingHaiyi Group and Haiyi Holdings (the Celine and Gordon Tang-controlled entity that holds majority shareholding in SingHaiyi). This bid translates to $1,388 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Just 0.82% more than the second-highest bid of $653.53 million ($1,377 psf ppr) submitted by Sing Holdings. City Developments’ bid of $620.8 million ($1,308 psf ppr) was the third-highest, which was 5.3% below Sing Holdings’ bid. “The highest prices submitted exceeded our expectations, suggesting that there may be strong confidence in the potential of this site,” remarks Justin Quek, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie.In addition, Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, points out that the number of bids received is the highest for a private residential site in Bayshore since January 2022, when a plot at Jalan Tembusu (now the site of Tembusu Grand) also received eight bids. He believes that developers may have held back from bidding for other government land sale (GLS) sites to pursue the Bayshore plot. “The strong sales in recent months have increased the need for developers to replenish their land bank,” he adds. Other bidders for the Bayshore Road site included a consortium led by Frasers Property, Kingsford Development, and a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments. The bids submitted ranged from $1,252 psf ppr to $1,285 psf ppr. Hong Leong Holdings, TID, and CSC Land Group formed the consortium that submitted the lowest bids at $500.68 million ($1,055 psf ppr) followed by Sim Lian Group at $485 million ($1,022 psf ppr). The significant difference of 36% between the highest and lowest bids for the Bayshore Road site indicates the mixed market sentiments among bidders, says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. He also notes that SingHaiyi’s bid of $1,388 psf ppr sets a new benchmark for Outside Central Region (OCR) land prices, surpassing the previous milestone of $1,250 psf ppr paid by MCL Land and CSC Land Group in November 2023 for the land of Elta, which is located at Clementi Avenue 1. Wong Siew Ying, PropNex’s head of research and content, adds that the new OCR benchmark is comparable to prices of some GLS plots in the Central Region. In 2023, Zion Road Parcels A and B in the Rest of Central Region sold at $1,202 psf ppr and $1,304 psf ppr respectively, while Holland Drive and River Valley Green (Parcel A) sites in the Core Central Region sold for $1,285 psf ppr and $1,325 psf ppr respectively. The upcoming development at the Bayshore Road site will be the first private residential project in the new Bayshore precinct. The 60-hectare estate is located between East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Upper East Coast Road, and approximately 10,000 homes are scheduled for the Bayshore area, with about 30% allocated for private housing. Huttons’ Yip notes that the Bayshore Road GLS site is the best in the Bayshore precinct. It offers a sea view and doorstep access to Bayshore MRT Station. He also adds that the neighborhood has many new amenities under construction and will benefit from long-term development plans, such as the Long Island coastal protection project. This project will add a reservoir and park to the Bayshore area, says Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research. According to PropNex’s Wong, there haven’t been any significant condo launches in the Bayshore area for decades. The area is home to two existing condos, The Bayshore, which launched in the 1990s, and Costa Del Sol, which entered the market in 2000. As a result, Wong believes that there may be pent-up demand for new private housing, including demand from Housing and Development Board upgraders in the adjacent Marine Parade and Bedok estates. “Based on the recent positive sales momentum in the primary market and the expectation of a strong demand for homes at the future Bayshore project, it’s no surprise that developers were actively bidding in this GLS tender. This may be driven by their desire to gain a first-mover advantage in the area,” she adds. Wong predicts that based on the top bid of $1,388 psf ppr, the new development at the Bayshore Road site may see an average selling price of more than $2,600 psf. Meanwhile, Knight Frank’s Tay expects prices at the upcoming project to start from $2,700 psf and average above $2,800 psf.
