Yishun EC sites draw top bids totalling S$362.6m

SINGAPORE — Two adjacent Executive Condominium (EC) sites in Yishun that can be developed into about 1,000 of such hybrid public-private homes attracted top bids totalling S$362.6 million at the close of tender yesterday. This was in line with market expectations, as cooling measures and loan curbs curtailed exuberance in developers’ bids.

The plot on Yishun Street 51, Parcel A, garnered six bids, with the top bid of S$178.5 million from City Developments unit Verwood Holdings and TID Residential translating to about S$330 per sq foot per plot ratio (psfppr).

The site has an area of 193,400 sq ft and a plot ratio of 2.8, and can yield an estimated 490 homes, the HDB said.

The slightly bigger plot on the same street, Parcel B, attracted eight bids, including those from all six developers that took part in the Parcel A tender. The highest bid of S$184.1 million, by JBE Holdings, which targeted only this site, worked out to about S$335 psfppr.

The site has an area of 196,600 sq ftand a plot ratio of 2.8, and can be developed into about 520 homes.

Under new rules announced last December, EC buyers are now subject to a Mortgage Servicing Ratio of 30 percent and second-time applicants who buy such units directly from developers will have to pay a resale levy.

While developers were cautious about overbidding in the current environment, competition for the Yishun EC sites was keen. For Parcel A, the margin between the top and third bid was about 3.1 per cent, while the difference was about 4.6 per cent in the case of Parcel B.

Mr Desmond Sim, head of property firm CBRE Research, said: “Developers are still hungry for land. The relatively small total quantum for the two sites has enticed a spectrum of developers, big and small, to place competitive bids. This area is fast becoming a nice enclave of private developments in an established housing estate.”

A CDL spokesperson said it had planned a development of 12 to 13 storeys with about 480 homes that will offer good views of the greenery and golf course, as well as of Lower Seletar Reservoir for units on higher floors.