Hoi Hup & Sunway bid $701 psf ppr for Plantation Close EC.
At the close of its bids on February 1, four bids were submitted for the executive condominium (EC), located at Plantation Close Tengah. This site’s closing coincides with the GLS site on Orchard Boulevard, which also closed that day.
Hoi Hup Realty & Sunway Developments’ joint venture was the winning bidder at the Plantation Close EC, with a bid of $423.38M. That equates into a land rate per plot ratio of $701 psf.
The consortium of Forsea Holdings & Qingjian Realty placed the second-highest bid, $416.89m ($690psfppr). The bid of Forsea Holdings and Qingjian Realty was just 1.57% below the amount offered by Hoi Hup.
Hillock Green Condo
Hoi Hup & Sunway submitted a $701 psf ppr land rate that is very close to a previous bid made by the joint venture developers for an adjacent EC Site last September. The JV topped a group of nine bidders, with a winning price of $348.5M – a record rate of $703 psf ppr on an EC site.
Other established developers like City Developments, Hong Leong Developments, CapitaLand Developments and Frasers Property submitted a total nine bids for the site in September 2023.
Huttons Asia’s director of data analytics, senior director, points out that if Hoi Hup, Sunway, and other developers are awarded the new EC site they will have the option, subjected to approval by the authorities, to merge the two sites into a mega EC. Plantation Close EC, the earlier site, could have produced 495 units. This latest site is capable of producing 560 units. Combined, this results in a 1,055-unit EC.
MCL Land also won the bids for two adjacent sites in Choa Cho Kang Parcel B and Parcel B a decade earlier. MCL Land combined the two sites when they were awarded, creating the 1,3277 Sol Acres. The mega EC development was launched and sold out in August 2015. In January, the prices of units sold at resale ranged from $1.376 to $1.504 psf.
Leonard Tay is the head of Knight Frank Singapore’s research. He says that if Hoi Hup Realty or Sunway Developments were awarded the second Plantation Close EC, they could strategically synchronise their timing and pricing for the launch of the ECs. Leonard Tay predicts a potential launch price of around $1400 psf. The average selling price will be between $1450 psf – $1550 psf.
The CEO of ERA Singapore says that the marginal price difference indicates that developers are confident and assured” of the continued strength of EC. The estimated selling price would start at $1,500/psf based on the top bid.
Hillock Green
Developers are compelled to build ECs due to the high demand of HDB upgraders. The prices of suburban private homes rose faster in recent years than the new ECs, making them a more affordable choice for HDB Upgraders.
Also, HDB flat buyers who are upgrading to a new EC will not be required to pay ABSD in advance since they must only dispose of their HDB flat within six month of receiving their keys.”
The latest launch of Lumina Grand is a EC that sold 53% of 512 units with an average of S$1,464 psf during its first-weekend sale on Jan. 28. Singaporeans recognize that ECs are a good option for those looking to buy a condo at a lower price. On February 1, less than 500 ECs remained unsold.
Altura, at Bukit batok West Avenue 8, also sold 61% on the day of its launch in August of last year. The average price was $1,433 psf. The 92%, or 330 units have been sold.
Plantation Close, a 99-year-leasehold site, is included in the GLS programme’s 2H2022 confirmed list. The land is approximately 215,689 sq. ft. and should yield around 560 housing units.
This is the third EC release in Tengah. The first EC in Tengah, purchased in June 2021 by a joint-venture between CDL Land and MCL Land for $603 psf ppr. The Copen Grand was launched in October 2022. The project was completely sold one month later during the second-timers’ balloting.
Hillock Green Showroom
Hutton said that Plantation Close’s EC will be better connected when the two MRT Stations (Bukit batok West and Tengah Park on the Jurong Region Line) are completed in stages between 2027-2029. Tengah Park station is within walking distance, and residents will have less than ten minutes to reach Jurong East’s second Central Business District.
Tengah Boulevard Bus Interchange, the future Tengah Integrated Transport Centre and Tengah Integrated Transport Center are also being developed.