SINGAPORE — Two residential sites in Champions Way in Woodlands and Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, and a short-term lease commercial site in Punggol Walk, were released for sale on Thursday (May 25) under the first-half 2023 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme.

Analysts see pent-up Housing Board upgrader demand for the two leasehold 99-year residential sites, which can yield a total of 1,125 residential units, and are located in estates with limited new private home supply.

The Champions Way site, which can yield about 350 units, is launched for sale under the confirmed list. The tender will close at noon on Sept 12.

The Lorong 1 Toa Payoh site can yield 775 residential units. The mature estate site, which comes under the reserve list, will be triggered for sale only if a developer submits an acceptable offer in the tender.

Huttons senior director of research Lee Sze Teck believes the Lorong 1 Toa Payoh site, which has not seen a private residential land tender since 2015, stands a high chance of being triggered for sale.

There is a sizeable pool of HDB upgraders, he noted, given that some five-room flats at The Peak @ Toa Payoh have sold for over $1 million and "quite a number of flats across the country just reached minimum occupation period and sold for more than $800,000".

The last GLS site awarded in the area was the Lorong 6 Toa Payoh/Lorong 4 Toa Payoh plot (now Gem Residences). It was sold in June 2015 for $345.86 million ($755 per sq ft per plot ratio or psf ppr).

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, said the site is "arguably the most attractively located (residential) site in the reserve list of the current GLS Programme".

If launched for sale, it could attract eight to 13 bids from developers, with the top bid ranging between $800 million and $888 million, which will translate to a land rate of $1,124 to $1,248 psf ppr, he said.

Champions Way is the first GLS in Woodlands since 2011, noted Mr Justin Quek, deputy chief executive of OrangeTee & Tie. The previous GLS was for the Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive site (now Parc Rosewood), which was sold for $151.5 million ($367 psf ppr) in June 2011, while the previous executive condominium plot in Woodlands was sold in 2015.

Located near Woodlands South MRT Station, the future Champions Way project could attract buyers who want to tap the growth of Woodlands Regional Centre in northern Singapore's largest economic hub. The site, which is near the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System, could also attract tenants who are expatriates and employment pass holders from Malaysia, Mr Quek said.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that the potential toll from the latest round of cooling measures is minimised as the future suburban project will likely attract local owner-occupiers rather than investors and foreigners.

Analysts say the Champions Way site could fetch bids ranging from $920 to $1,012 psf ppr, which would translate to between $300 million and $330 million. This tender could attract five to eight bids.

To support decentralisation and bring jobs closer to homes, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has also put up for application on the reserve list a 30-year leasehold commercial site in Punggol Walk with a potential yield of about 8,400 sq m of office space.

PropNex Realty's head of research and content Wong Siew Ying believes the site could draw interest due to a lack of commercial office space in the area.

The future commercial development may support the Punggol Digital District, attracting occupiers who want to be located in Punggol, she said.

About 60 per cent (minimum of 8,400 sq m) of the gross floor area will be required for office use, and at least 650 sq m set aside for a childcare centre. The remaining space could be for retail use, she said.

Mr Mak believes the Punggol Walk commercial site "is an experiment to test if the market is ready for such a product at Punggol".

Even though the site is next to Punggol MRT station, that "does not guarantee that a developer would trigger it to be released for tender because Punggol is an untested office market", he said.

"This is because there is ample supply of office space in other parts of Singapore, with an overall vacancy rate of about 11 per cent," Mr Mak added.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.