GuocoLand tops bid for Lentor Central site with $1,204 psf ppr; sets new record for OCR land prices
GuocoLand tops bid for Lentor Central site with $1,204 psf ppr; sets new record for OCR land prices
The 99-year leasehold site for the lentor residential government land sale (GLS) at Lentor Gardens closed today with GuocoLand and Intrepid Investments (a subsidiary of Hong Leong Group) submitting a bid of $486.8 million and resulting in a land rate of $985 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).
“For the Lentor Gardens site, we are envisioning a new high-end residential development with around 533 units, and with 600 sqm of childcare facilities,” says a GuocoLand spokesperson.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, noted that the bid of $958 psf ppr was the lowest for a land parcel in the Lentor precinct, and the first residential GLS tender to have received only one bid since the Silat Avenue GLS site in 2018, which a consortium led by UOL Group won for $1.035 billion.
The Lentor Hills estate could soon be widely known as a premium residential area with the development of three new sites. Last September, Lentor Avenue Central was awarded to a consortium of China Communications Construction, Soilbuild Group Holdings and United Engineers, who submitted a bid of $481.03 million ($1,108 psf ppr). TID (a joint venture between Hong Leong Group and Mitsui Fudosan) was the top bidder for the Lentor Hill (Parcel B), submitting a bid of $276.36 million ($1,130 psf ppr).
GuocoLand purchased the GLS site for $586.6 million ($1,060 psf ppr) in January 2022, with the future 598-unit development in Lentor Hills Residences, developed in collaboration with Hong Leong Holdings and TID, to be launched soon.
Last September, the 605-unit Lentor Modern integrated development was launched and saw 84% of units sold on launch weekend. At current the project is 88% sold at an average price of $2,104 psf.
Yip’s research indicates that bids have been on a decreasing trend since the first Lentor GLS site launch, which may have to do with developers being aware of the amount of land being pushed out for sale, as well as the high possibility of being imposed with additional buyer’s stamp duty if unable to sell all units within five years.
Two more GLS sites in Lentor are available for sale in the 1H2023 GLS Programme, one of which is expected to be launched for tender this month. The sites are expected to yield a total of 945 residential units.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, believes that all the seven residential sites in Lentor has the potential to bring about a total of 3,500 new units to the area, potentially accommodating 11,000 new resident within a span of three to six years.
The future development at the Lentor Gardens site, being within walking distance of the Lentor MRT station, Thomson Nature Park and Yio Chu Kang Stadium and Sports Complex, should draw potential homebuyers with its accessibility to recreational facilities and schools such as CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School.
According to OrangeTee & Tie CEO Steven Tan, the eventual launch at the site could see units priced around $1,950 to $2,050 psf.
