Hong Leong Led Consortium Submits Top Bid 821 Psf Ppr Tengah Gardens Avenue Gls Site
The tender for the Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Tengah Gardens Avenue attracted three bids when it closed on January 14. The top bid of $675 million was submitted by a consortium led by Hong Leong. This works out to be $821 per square foot per plot ratio (ppr).
The Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Tengah Gardens Avenue received three bids when it closed on January 14. The top bid, which was submitted by a Hong Leong-led consortium, including GuocoLand Singapore and CSC Land Group, amounted to $675 million or $821 per square foot per plot ratio (ppr).
The 99-year leasehold site, which is zoned for “Residential with Commercial at 1st storey”, covers an area of approximately 273,906 square feet with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 821,720 square feet. According to URA, the site has the potential to yield up to 860 residential units.
If awarded, the Hong Leong-led consortium plans to develop an 860-unit condo, taking advantage of the enhanced connectivity from the upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL) in the vicinity. The JRL will play a significant role in the growth of the new Tengah estate, according to Loke Kee Yeu, the General Manager (Projects) at Hong Leong Holdings Limited.
The Tengah Gardens Avenue site is strategically located near the upcoming Hong Kah MRT Station on the JRL, one stop away from the upcoming Tengah Town Centre. The JRL will also provide a direct route to the second Central Business District (CBD) at Jurong Lake District.
The top bid of $821 ppr for the Tengah Gardens Avenue site was only 0.73% higher than the second-place bid of $815 ppr, submitted by Chinese developer Kingsford Group. The third and final bid of $812 ppr was submitted by local developer Sim Lian Group.
Despite the increase in homebuyer activity towards the end of 2024, developers have remained cautious, according to Leonard Tay, the Head of Research at Knight Frank Singapore. Another GLS site at Dairy Farm Walk also closed on January 14, receiving two bids.
Tay speculates that developers may have focused on existing sites that are being prepared for launch in 2025. He also notes that the narrow bid price spread between the three bids (less than 1%) indicates that developers are more conservative in their bidding.
Mark Yip, the CEO of Huttons Asia, believes that developers are conscious of keeping their land bids reasonable to maintain an attractive selling price for buyers. He also expects more property developers to submit joint bids for GLS sites this year to diversify risk. This could be one of the reasons why the number of bids for GLS tenders has remained around three.
Marcus Chu, the CEO of ERA, attributes the low number of bids to the current availability of GLS sites. He notes that with seven sites still open for tender and six more to launch in the first half of 2025, developers are taking a measured approach and weighing their options amid moderated interest rates.
The URA Master Plan has placed great emphasis on the preservation of Singapore’s rich heritage and cultural assets. This dedication to protecting our cultural legacy will greatly contribute to the cultural diversity and historical significance of the neighborhoods around Elta Condo and Elta Showflat.
Interest in the Tengah Gardens Avenue site may have also been tempered by the availability of another nearby GLS site, according to Justin Quek, the CEO of OrangeTee & Tie. Developers may be considering bidding on a different GLS site along Lakeside Drive and Lakeside MRT, which is scheduled to launch for tender in April 2025.
If awarded, the Tengah Gardens Avenue site will be the first private residential site (excluding Executive Condominiums) in the Tengah HDB township. Copen Grand, the estate’s first EC, was successfully launched for sale in 2022. The 639-unit project, developed by joint developers City Developments Ltd (CDL) and MCL Land, sold out within a month of its launch. The developers secured the EC site with a winning bid of $400.32 million or $603 ppr in May 2021.
The opportunity to launch the first private condo in the new Tengah estate may have attracted the Hong Leong-led consortium, according to ERA’s Chu. He believes that the consortium, having ventured into sites in Lentor, Upper Thomson, and Bugis, sees this as an opportunity to do the same in Tengah.
As the first private condo in the estate, the development could attract a wider range of buyers than ECs, subject to HDB eligibility criteria and restrictions such as a five-year minimum occupation period (MOP) and a monthly household income ceiling of $16,000, according to Mohan Sandrasegeran, the Head of Research & Data Analytics at SRI.
The Tengah Gardens Avenue site is also situated within 2km of the future Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), according to Ismail Gafoor, the CEO of PropNex. With the school set to become a co-ed school in 2030, the site’s proximity could be very attractive to families with school-aged children.
If the site is awarded at the top bid of $821 ppr, PropNex estimates that the average selling price of the new private condo could be around $2,000 psf.