The latest Yishun condominium site launched by the Housing Development Board (HDB) drew only 2 bids from developers.

When compared with just a couple of months ago when tenders of private residential sites were hotly contested by developers, the bidding action for the Yishun site seemed dismal. The site is located at Yishun Avenue 2 / Yishun Avenue 7 / Canberra Drive.

The higher bid of $229.4 million was made by Nam Hee Contractor and FCL Topaz. The other bid was $196 million by Perfect Eagle.

Leonard Tay, Director, CBRE Research commented,” The site is located at the junction of Yishun Avenue 2/ Avenue 7/ Canberra Drive. Diagonally opposite the Yishun Neighbourhood Park, it is approximately 10-15 minutes’ walk from Yishun Central /Yishun MRT station, bus interchange, Northpoint Shopping Centre and Yishun Public Library are situated.”

“The site received a relatively muted response of two bids, probably because of its larger size. Nevertheless, the top bid of $229.4 million or $321 psf/plot ratio is reasonably priced, reflecting a breakeven cost of around $600 psf. Units in this new project will possibly sell above $650 psf. For comparison, recently launched in March - April 2010, units in The Estuary were transacted at between $660 -$800 psf, and in the resale market, units in adjacent Yishun Emerald and Yishun Sapphire were transacted at $540 - $630 psf in February-May 2010,” he added.