Anchorvale EC site draws ‘very bullish’ bids

SINGAPORE — Property developers appear unfazed by the tighter rules governing the Executive Condominium (EC) market, as a site in Anchorvale Crescent attracted “very bullish” bids at the close of tender yesterday.

A total of 12 developers competed for the 175,236 sq ft site, with the top bid of S$192.9 million placed by Phoenix Real Estate.

With the site offering a maximum gross floor area of 525,709 sq ft, the bid translates to around S$367 per sq ft per plot ratio (psfppr), said the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

The top bid is also only 1 per cent higher than the second bid of about S$363 psfppr by MCL Land.

“I’m not surprised that the site received 12 bids because it is quite an attractive site, but they are very bullish,” said Mr Nicholas Mak, SLP Executive Director for Research and Consultancy.

Analysts had expected changes to the EC scheme, announced last December, to affect demand. EC buyers are now subject to the mortgage servicing ratio of 30 per cent of their gross monthly income and second-time applicants will have to pay an HDB resale levy.

However, this tender indicated that developers are still confident of the prospects of the market.

“As all EC developments that have already been launched for sale to homebuyers today are not subject to the HDB resale levy, the effect of this levy on the demand for ECs is unknown. This could explain why some developers are not perturbed by the latest curbs,” said Mr Mak:

ERA Key Executive Officer Eugene Lim said: “The bids received show that developers believe the EC market is robust and reflect developers’ confidence in the demand for homes in this market segment … The keen interest also shows that developers are hungry for sites to build their land bank.”

The top bid is about 11 per cent higher than the S$331 psfppr that Qingjian Realty paid for a site also in Anchorvale Crescent, the tender for which closed last May, before the changes were announced.

Analysts said the top bid for the latest tender would translate to a selling price of just above S$800 psf.

Lee Yen Nee