URA announced the sale of a residential land parcel on Sturdee Road, off Serangoon Road, one of the sites on the Confirmed List for the 1H2015 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The area of the site is 65,790 sq ft, with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 230,253 sq ft. The 99-year leasehold site can be developed into a project with 265 units.

Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International, expects the site to receive a fairly high level of interest, with 10 to 15 bids. However, with a weak private residential market, he estimates the top bid to be in the range of $138 million to $157 million ($600 to $680 psf per plot ratio), which is lower than the $731 psf ppr paid for a GLS residential site on Lorong Puntong, off Upper Thomson Road in October 2014. Meanwhile, Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research for Southeast Asia, expects bid prices to be in the range of $160 million to $180 million, or $700 psf ppr.

This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 664 (Feb 16) of The Edge Singapore.