Frasers JV With Sekisui House, CSCEC Places $385M Top Bid for Western Singapore Site

A consortium of Frasers Property, Japanese builder Sekisui House and China’s state-owned CSCEC bested eight rival offers to enter the top bid of S$491.5 million ($385.4 million) for a western Singapore residential site, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

The top bid translates to S$1,410 per square foot of accommodation for the site at Dunearn Road in the new Bukit Timah Turf City housing estate, the URA said Thursday in a release. Kwek Leng Beng’s City Developments Ltd placed the next-highest bid of S$474 million, working out to S$1,360 per square foot. Others taking part in the tender included local groups Sim Lian, UOL and Wee Hur Development — the latter entering the lowest bid of S$330.8 million — as well as Chinese players Kingsford and COLI.

Frasers Property Singapore CEO Soon Su Lin and executives of Sekisui House and CSCEC issued a joint statement in which they described the site in the neighbourhood near the former Bukit Timah racecourse as an opportunity to be part of the Turf City master plan and leverage the companies’ combined expertise.

“Situated within the renowned Bukit Timah educational belt, the site stands out for its excellent connectivity as well as access to amenities and green spaces,” they said. “Given that the last GLS site in the vicinity was awarded nearly a decade ago, we believe quality developments, specifically in the prime districts 9, 10 and 11, within the Core Central Region, will continue to be highly attractive to homebuyers due to their locational attributes.”

Strong Turnout

The 145,227 square foot (13,492 square metre) Dunearn Road site can potentially provide 380 homes, part of 15,000-20,000 public and private housing units planned for the Turf City estate, which will be completed in 20 to 30 years.

The last Government Land Sales site awarded near Dunearn Road was the Fourth Avenue plot that became the ultra-luxury Fourth Avenue Residences. That parcel drew seven bids and was sold to Robert Kuok’s Allgreen Group in December 2017 for S$552.96 million, or S$1,540 per square foot of accommodation. The 476-unit Fourth Avenue Residences was launched in January 2019 and sold out in September 2022.

The top bid of S$1,410 for the Dunearn Road site was in line with analyst views. The total of nine bids represented an “exceptionally strong turnout” for a site in the Core Central Region, said Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at local broker SRI, as recent GLS tenders in the CCR have typically drawn two to five bids.

“Developers recognise the first-mover advantage this parcel offers, providing them the opportunity to shape the tone and positioning of the future precinct,” Sandrasegeran said. “By launching ahead of other potential developments in the area, the winning developer may be able to establish a pricing benchmark and attract early buyer interest, especially from families and investors drawn to the district’s strong locational fundamentals.”

A decision on the award of the tender will be made and publicised at a later date, the URA said.

Turf City Pioneers

The Dunearn Road site’s significance is heightened by its role in kickstarting the transformation of Turf City into a “10-minute neighbourhood” with proximity to Sixth Avenue MRT station on the Downtown Line and the yet-to-be-completed Turf City MRT station on the Cross Island Line, according to Knight Frank research head Leonard Tay.

Knight Frank expects selling prices to start from S$2,900 per square foot, potentially averaging between S$3,000 and S$3,200, depending on the project’s specifications and the prevailing demand conditions at the time of launch.

“With limited new private non-landed housing supply in the immediate area since Fourth Avenue Residences, this project could benefit from underlying local demand,” Tay said. “Families drawn to the school belt and higher educational institutes, and retirees looking to right-size while remaining in a familiar neighbourhood, may form the core pool of buyers.”