Discover upcoming condo launches in Singapore

A large residential land parcel site at Stirling Road, which has been on the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the past seven years, has finally been sold at a record price of over S$1 billion in a joint bid from Logan Property Holdings - a newcomer hailing from China's Guangdong province - and Chinese conglomerate Nanshan Group.

This marks Hong Kong-listed Logan Property's maiden participation in the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme and foray into the Singapore residential market. "Bullish bidding is now the norm for GLS residential sites, driven by expected market recovery and limited number of sites on the market.

The site, which can yield 1,110 units on a huge 2.11-ha size requiring heavy financial commitment from developers - saw a healthy demand of 13 developers bidding for the prime land parcel.

This is the first time that a purely residential site in the GLS has crossed the S$1 billion mark. The S$1.003 billion price tag is also almost 50 per cent (46.7 per cent) higher than the previous record — a site that has been developed into Costa Del Sol condominium, which was sold at S$682.8 million or S$457 psf per plot ratio (ppr) in January 1997.

The substantial number of bidders for this relatively large plot reflects both the hunger of developers for limited sites and their upbeat sentiments indicating that the property market in Singapore may be recovering.
 
Developers have confidence in the Singapore residential market, believing that prices could return to growth soon & the ability to price higher than the existing launches in the vicinity. Logan Property investor relations director Derek Lee told The Business Times that the group has been studying the Singapore market for a while & believes "its the right time to enter Singapore. No one knows where the (market) bottom is but our bidding price is reasonable given the quality land site & location".

The bullish bid of S$1,050.7 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) on gross floor area for the 99-year-leasehold site also sets a new record in the Queenstown area, as analysts expect the selling price for this Stirling Road development to start from $1,700 psf onwards, thereby possibly increasing buyer's interest towards nearby projects like Queens Peak, conveniently situated beside Queenstown MRT.