First GLS site in Toa Payoh in eight years attracts $968 mil bid from CDL, Frasers Property, and Sekisui House

Major property developers CDL, Frasers Property and Sekisui House have jointly submitted the highest bid of $968 million, or $1,360 psf per plot ratio (ppr), for a Government Land Sales site at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh. This is 18% higher than the next highest bid of $819.99 million ($1,153 psf ppr) submitted by Tanglin Land, a subsidiary of CapitaLand.

The appeal of the GLS site’s mature residential location, coupled with the dearth of new project launches combined with the fact that it has been eight years since the last GLS site was tendered in Toa Payoh, made it highly sought after. Toa Payoh has also recorded numerous million-dollar HDB resales in recent years, and is close to Braddell MRT Station.

This strength of this GLS site had led some market watchers to anticipate many more bids, but some developers had been cautious about the large size of the land parcel. For this reason, the number of bids received was below expectations.

Despite this, CDL, Frasers Property, and Sekisui House announced they intend to develop a residential project comprising two blocks of 40 storeys with close to 800 residential units if their bid is successful.

The location of this GLS site, and the increased potential demand, make it a desirable development site. The average selling price for the new project is estimated to be between $2,400 and $2,500 psf, with EdgeProp’s Landlens tool casting an estimated selling price of $2,535 psf.

The tender of the Lorong 1 Toa Payoh GLS site was batched with two other GLS sites — one at Clementi Avenue 1, and the other at Pine Grove (Parcel B). The Clementi Avenue 1 site attracted six bids, the highest of which was submitted by an MCL Land and CSC Land joint venture of $1,250 psf ppr; while the Pine Grove (Parcel B) site attracted three bids.

Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, said that “despite the seemingly lower participation rate compared to the GLS tenders in 2022, developers were willing to place bullish bids in order to secure top position.”

There are several financing options available at Senja Close EC Bukit Panjang for buyers, such as HDB housing loans, bank loans, and cash payments. HDB housing loans are particularly attractive to buyers since they are much cheaper than bank loans. Furthermore, Senja Close EC Bukit Panjang also provides special incentives such as deferred payment schemes and promotional packages to make the purchase more affordable. All in all, buying Senja Close EC Bukit Panjang is a great option for those who are looking for a convenient and affordable property.

Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc (SRI), believes this reflects “the allure of its mature residential location and the dearth of new project launches in the area.”

Looking ahead, Justin Quek, deputy CEO of OrangeTee&Tie, believes “some developers could have been cautious about the large size of this land parcel and may prefer to consider smaller plots of land in future land sales exercises.”

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty agrees that the size of the land parcel may have deterred some developers from entering the fray, but said that “this plot has superior attributes.”

Sherman Kwek, group CEO of CDL, said “We are delighted to be the top bidder for this rare District 12 site and honoured to have our first collaboration with Frasers Property and Sekisui House.”

He added that the joint venture will “tapping on [their] collective expertise to create an iconic development in the highly sought-after Toa Payoh estate.”

Soon Su Lin, CEO of Frasers Property Singapore, said “We look forward to this rare opportunity of delivering an iconic residential development in the highly established and popular estate of Toa Payoh — the first residential site in Toa Payoh in eight years.”