Lentor Central GLS site receives two bids, highest bid at $982 psf ppr

Location of Lentor Central site (Photo: URA).

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The tender for the residential government land sale (GLS) site at Lentor Central closed on Sept 12, together with the tender for the site at Champions Way.

The Lentor Central site drew just two bids, with the top bid of $435.1 million submitted by a consortium comprising Hong Leong Holdings, GuocoLand and CSC Land Group. This works out to $982 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 99-year leasehold, 158,264 sq ft site. The bid was 5.9% higher than the $410.8 million ($927 psf ppr) submitted by Frasers Property.

“We are pleased to achieve the highest bid at Lentor Central which marks our fourth site in the Lentor Hills Estate area,” said a spokesman of Hong Leong Holdings. “If awarded, we plan to build a private residential development with about 475 units in two high-rise blocks, where residents will benefit from the convenience of nearby amenities and Lentor MRT station, adding to the site’s overall appeal to future buyers.”

The top bid is marginally lower than the $985 psf ppr paid by a joint venture between GuocoLand and Hong Leong Holdings for the Lentor Gardens site in April last year, points out Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore. “The latest government land tenders in the Lentor vicinity represent among the lowest land rates when compared to the previous four GLS sites awarded from 2021 in the Lentor area,” he adds.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore, notes that there has been “a dilution in demand” for Lentor Central due to the sheer number of sites to be released under the second half 2023 GLS programme.

In addition, some developers may be more cautious as there are macroeconomic uncertainties, elevated interest rates, and cooling measures, says Justin Quek, deputy chief executive officer of OrangeTee & Tie.

“They may also be holding back as more land could be released next year,” Quek adds. “The government has already announced more new land parcels to be released or old buildings/sites slated for redevelopment.”

ERA Singapore’s Lim remarks that the Lentor Central site falls within the Ang Mo Kio Planning Area and in close proximity to Lentor MRT station and established schools, such as CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Anderson Primary School and Presbyterian High School.

Knight Frank Singapore’s Tay says that the likely selling price for the residential units of this project could start from above $2,000 psf, similar to the $2,080 psf unit price of Lentor Hills Residences which launched in July.

“The two bids for the Lentor Central plot reflect the increasingly tentative and defensive sentiment among developers, as well as the fact that the Lentor area might have too many condominium projects, all being developed within a few years of each other,” says Tay.

Six GLS sites in Lentor have been tendered to date, with one more site currently on the Reserve List. Together, the sites could add some 3,500 new homes to the area.