The Urban Redevelopment Authority has just launched the land tender for a site at Lentor Gardens and River Valley Green (Parcel B) under the Confirmed List of the 2H2024 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The plot at Lentor Gardens can yield an estimated 500 residential units, while the site at River Valley Green can yield around 475 residential units and 500 sqm of commercial space.
Lentor Gardens
The upcoming site will introduce the seventh plot in the Lentor Hills estate. The location is close to Lentor MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line and will be in proximity to the upcoming mall at Lentor Modern. This will offer future residents easy access to amenities and convenience.
The most recent site that was sold was at Lentor Central, which was awarded in September 2023 to Intrepid Investments Pte. Ltd., GuocoLand (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and CSC Land Group (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. at a tender price of S$435.1 million or S$982 psf ppr.
Given that six land parcels in Lentor Hills have already been sold, developers might shift their focus to other available land parcels. This could lead to increased interest in areas such as Bayshore and Lorong Chuan, as new land parcels are set to be released after a period of limited supply in recent years.
Nonetheless, new homes in the Outside of Central Region have remained popular with homebuyers. Based on the URA monthly developer sales data, the proportion of new homes sold in the OCR (excluding ECs) in the first nine months of the year is almost 64 per cent of all new homes sold thus far this year. Additionally, projects in the Lentor Hills precinct have continued to sell well, indicating the popularity of homes in this area. Out of a total of 2,477 units across the five Lentor projects launched so far, only 412 units remain unsold based on URA monthly sales data as of September 2024. Only one other project, Lentor Central Residences, is yet to launch. Should developers opt to bid for this latest land parcel, there could be sufficient time between the launch of Lentor Central Residences and the future project at this Lentor Gardens land parcel for the market to absorb the launched units.
We anticipate 1 to 3 bidders, at the highest bid price of S$950 to S$1,050 psf ppr.
River Valley Green (Parcel B)
The site is well located above the Great World MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). Future residents need only take a short walk to Great World City to access the retail and dining amenities. Homebuyers with younger children may also find the future project attractive as River Valley Primary School is within 1km of the site. Moreover, the site overlooks green spaces and enjoys direct views of the Singapore River.
There were several GLS sites sold in the vicinity, with the neighbouring River Valley Green (Parcel A) site awarded earlier this year in June 2024 at a land rate of around S$1,325 psf ppr. Two other sites, Zion Road (Parcel A) and (Parcel B) were also sold this year in April and August, respectively.
Given that the earlier plots were not keenly contested, with River Valley Green (Parcel A) and Zion Road (Parcel B) garnering two bids each and Zion Road (Parcel A) getting a sole bid, we may expect the number of bids for this latest plot to be similar. However, the removal of SA2 requirements that was previously tied to this land parcel should make the future development here more straightforward. When this site was launched under the Reserve List in March 2024, SA2 units were previously part of the 580 units expected for the site. Nonetheless, serviced apartment/long-stay serviced apartment uses can still be allowed subject to approval from technical agencies.
Given that this is a prime parcel situated in the Core Central Region (CCR), there are additional concerns such as macroeconomic uncertainty, increased construction costs, and high Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates for foreign buyers and investors. Nevertheless, the expected decrease in interest rates may help boost the demand for this site.
Moreover, demand for new homes has been strong as new projects in the vicinity, such as Irwell Hill Residences and The Atelier, were fully sold. With a limited supply of new homes in the area, we may still see healthy demand when this new site is launched for sale to buyers.
We anticipate between 1 and 3 bidders for the site, with the highest bid price at S$1,300 to S$1,400 psf ppr.