$408m bid for rare condo site in Clementi

The Straits Times
Jan 13, 2012
$408m bid for rare condo site in Clementi
8-way tussle for plot in mature estate, close to MRT station

By Esther Teo

A RARE condominium site in Clementi has attracted a top bid of $408 million in an eight-way tussle - an indication that builders are still bullish on mass market home demand.

Malaysian developer IOI Properties' unit Multi Wealth (Singapore) lodged the top bid of $554 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr) for the 2.4 ha site at Jalan Lempeng - 13 per cent more than the $361 million joint bid by UOL Group, Singapore Land and Kheng Leong. This is the highest unit price submitted for a government condo land parcel since August last year.

Other bidders for the site, which can yield 685 units, include Guocoland, MCL Land, Mezzo Development and Soilbuild Group Holdings.

Soilbuild lodged the lowest bid of $260.1 million.

Experts said that the healthy level of interest indicates that developers think that demand in the mass market segment is still robust.

But the higher interest is also because sites in a mature estate close to tertiary educational institutions rarely hit the market, they added.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group, said that the Clementi estate has not had a condo project launch in many years. The site is also near to Clementi MRT station.

'There is likely to be pent-up demand from the residents living in Clementi. The recent Design, Build and Sell Scheme project, Trivelis, is a good example,' he added. Trivelis in Clementi was more than two times oversubscribed last October.

Mr Lee expects the breakeven price of the latest project to be about $1,000 psf with the selling price likely to be around $1,200 and $1,300 psf.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, head of research and consultancy at Credo Real Estate, attributes the strong interest and high bids to the attractiveness of the site. There are also fewer sites available in the west compared with other locations, especially in the north-east and east where the most recent tender sites have been located, he said.

'This tender indicates that many developers are still fairly positive about the market and if this continues for other land tenders, it could lead to buyers reading the market positively as well,' Mr Ong said.

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International's director of research and advisory, however, said that the difference in bids reflects IOI Properties' keen interest and that other developers continued to be more cautious.

esthert@sph.com.sg

(13-01-2012, 06:46 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: A RARE condominium site in Clementi has attracted a top bid of $408 million in an eight-way tussle - an indication that builders are still bullish on mass market home demand.

Mr Lee expects the breakeven price of the latest project to be about $1,000 psf with the selling price likely to be around $1,200 and $1,300 psf.

I think i must be out of touch - Mass market homes will be selling for $1200psf in the future, or are we talking about mass market shoe box units again?

Is it me or did you notice Mcdonald burgers and our traditional char shao bao getting smaller than what we used to have in the 80s?

I guess we are moving towards HK, Japan, and the first-tier cities in China.

I count myself lucky to have bought my 3 room HDB flat during end 2003. If property prices keep climbing up, I think the price I paid in 2003 can only buy a toilet in the future!?

I think in Singapore its one of the places on earth where if you get married early and bought a HDB or private property, you will be ahead of your cohorts who got married late... (well, at least you paid less if you are not into profiting from your property)

Just ask around when you have class re-unions

Do I have to thank my wife for that?

(13-01-2012, 07:43 AM)Jared Seah Wrote: I think in Singapore its one of the places on earth where if you get married early and bought a HDB or private property, you will be ahead of your cohorts who got married late... (well, at least you paid less if you are not into profiting from your property)

How true! In the earlier years when HDB goes by balloting, just being lucky at the ballot box by a few quarters means paying much less for your flat. I was among those unlucky ones which took >2 years to ballot successfully.

I have a Uni friend who recently secured a BTO flat, with his GF who wasn't engaged at all.

Reason for doing so? To exploit the 25K low-income grant.

IMO, I think that exploitation is really risky when it comes to lifetime marriage commitment at such a young age!

(13-01-2012, 07:11 AM)weijian Wrote: I think i must be out of touch - Mass market homes will be selling for $1200psf in the future, or are we talking about mass market shoe box units again?

Nope, you're not out of touch. Note the use of the word "rare", and the word "condominium". These two words alone justify the $1,200 psf price tag.

Maybe these developers will finally be happy when almost every young couples is swimming in their eyeballs in debt. Corporations win, individuals lose.

(13-01-2012, 09:56 AM)dzwm87 Wrote: I have a Uni friend who recently secured a BTO flat, with his GF who wasn't engaged at all.

Reason for doing so? To exploit the 25K low-income grant.

IMO, I think that exploitation is really risky when it comes to lifetime marriage commitment at such a young age!

Ahhhh, social engineering at work.

(13-01-2012, 10:00 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: Maybe these developers will finally be happy when almost every young couples is swimming in their eyeballs in debt.

If 85% of Singaporeans stay in HDB, then I have a feeling that these mass market condos are targeting the HDB upgrader who are unlikely to be a young couple. At most young couples who are high income earners (a tiny tiny percentage of the population).

I'd be more worried about HDB upgraders. Imagine servicing another 20/30 yr loan (especially if it's a big portion of the monthly income) for a couple of 100Ks when you're already 35-40...Any 'unfortunate' events like Pink slips and I think this family can say 'bye-bye'.

Oh yes definitely. Or it could just be because we have grown bigger and stronger in physique over the years that these items look comparatively much smaller. Think positive man

Ya I took one year to procrastinate before finally getting my 4 room flat 3 years back. If I had decided to commit simply one year earlier, I would have paid a much lesser amount for a 5 room flat instead.

(13-01-2012, 07:43 AM)Jared Seah Wrote: Is it me or did you notice Mcdonald burgers and our traditional char shao bao getting smaller than what we used to have in the 80s?

I guess we are moving towards HK, Japan, and the first-tier cities in China.

I count myself lucky to have bought my 3 room HDB flat during end 2003. If property prices keep climbing up, I think the price I paid in 2003 can only buy a toilet in the future!?

I think in Singapore its one of the places on earth where if you get married early and bought a HDB or private property, you will be ahead of your cohorts who got married late... (well, at least you paid less if you are not into profiting from your property)

Just ask around when you have class re-unions