With a $685 million bid, sales of a new residential land site in Queenstown has been triggered. The reduction in land sales under the Government Land Sales programme has seen older properties more keen to go on the en bloc sales route, and developers have shown their eagerness in procuring land sites as market sentiment continues to improve.
This latest land site is a 2.11 hectare plot on Stirling Road with the propensity to yield 1,110 new private home units. This site was placed under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s reserve list in 2010 which means it will only go on sale should the Government receive a bid of an acceptable level. The size of the plot can be credited to the combination of 2 adjacent sites which were merged into 1 in 2012. The 99-year leasehold site is near Anchorpoint Shopping Centre, Ikea, Queensway shopping centre and just a few stops way from the Bukit Merah bus interchange and Redhill and Queenstown MRT stations.
As the site is within walkable distance from Queenstown MRT station, property analysts anticipate competitive bidding this time round. The maximum floor area of the site comes up to 954,328 sq ft or approximately $718 psf though joint ventures for a land plot this size seems likely and bids are expected to vary from $838 to $950 psf.
The site is expected to receive from between 7 to 11 bids. Nearby properties which could set the precedent for pricing are the Commonwealth Towers and Queens Peak condominiums. Current prices at both developments stand at $1,654 and $1, 640 psf respectively. Projects in the vicinity have been selling well, especially with the recent lifting of the property curbs and a general lift in consumer sentiment.
