08-07-2025
Chuan Grove GLS site snags top bid of $703.6m from Sing Holdings-Sunway joint venture
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This plot, which can yield 555 private homes, is the larger of two Chuan Grove GLS sites slated for sale.
SINGAPORE – A plum state land parcel in Chuan Grove secured a top bid of $703.6 million on July 8 from a joint venture between Sing Holdings Residential and Sunway Developments.
This site – the first Government Land Sales (GLS) site in Chuan Grove since 2009 – drew seven bids, signalling optimism about the Lorong Chuan location.
This came on the heels of a hotly contested state tender in June for a Dunearn Road site, which drew nine bids, and a Lakeside Drive tender, which attracted six bids.
The top bid of $703.6 million, which translates to $1,376 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), is 7.3 per cent higher than the next bid of $1,282 psf ppr tabled by City Developments.
It is the second-highest bid ever for a private GLS plot in the suburbs, after a Bayshore Road plot was awarded at $1,388 psf ppr in March.
Sing Holdings, in a Singapore Exchange filing on July 8, said it will form a joint venture with Sunway with equity interests of 65 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, to complete the land purchase and develop a new residential project with a gross floor area of 47,495 sq m.
Mr Lee Sze Hao, chief executive of Sing Holdings, said: 'Subject to the tender award by URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), we plan to develop a residential development comprising three high-rise towers of approximately 550 units with full facilities and community-centric features.'
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The Chuan Grove site is one of the more attractive suburban sites bordering the city fringe area, said Mr Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion, the entity formed after a merger between OrangeTee and real estate consultancy ETC.
He noted that the $1,376 psf ppr bid for the suburban site was only 2.4 per cent lower than the Dunearn Road prime district parcel, which was awarded on July 3 at $1,410 psf ppr.
ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu said: 'With the site's desirable location and excellent connectivity, the developer likely anticipated healthy demand, giving them the confidence to place a strong bid.'
Developers' appetite for land did not cool despite the announcement of the extension of the seller's stamp duty (SSD) holding period to four years and heightened SSD rates from July 4, PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor noted.
He said this signals healthy land-banking interest and developers' optimism that the site will mostly appeal to genuine home buyers, who are less affected by the revised SSD framework.
This plot, which can yield 555 private homes, is the larger of two Chuan Grove GLS sites slated for sale. Even with impending supply from
an adjacent plot, which can offer 505 new units , developer interest did not cool for the larger site, Mr Gafoor added.
The state tender for the second Chuan Grove plot will close in September.
Strong take-up at nearby launch Chuan Park encouraged developers to bid more confidently for the Chuan Grove site, said Ms Tricia Song, head of research for South-east Asia at CBRE.
Chuan Park moved 696 of its 916 units – 76 per cent – at an average price of $2,537 psf on its launch weekend in November 2024. To date, 766 units, or 84 per cent, have been sold at a median price of $2,591 psf, CBRE said.
Given the low unsold inventory in the area, there could still be ample demand from HDB upgraders, or potential downgraders from landed estates in Serangoon, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio nearby, Ms Song said.
The number of unsold units in the suburbs stood at 4,361 in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2022, Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip noted.
Knight Frank research head Leonard Tay said that there have been no new condo launches in Lorong Chuan since the 468-unit The Scala hit the market in 2010.
Hong Leong Group beat 14 other bidders to be awarded the GLS parcel on which The Scala sits in Serangoon Avenue 3 for $221 million or $529 psf ppr in October 2009.
Among its attributes, the Chuan Grove site is located near Lorong Chuan MRT station, as well as Serangoon and Bishan MRT stations, and near the NTP+ mall in New Tech Park, Bishan's Junction 8 and Serangoon's Nex.
