Site on Singapore’s Bukit Timah Road Draws Top Bid of $436M as Luxury Market Surges

A condo site in an upscale Singapore residential enclave has drawn a top bid of S$566.3 million ($436 million), according to an announcement from the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday, as developers display their appetites for luxury projects.

The leading bid for the Bukit Timah Road site placed by HH Investment Private Ltd, a local builder controlled by the Liao family Liao behind Taiwan’s Huang Hsiang Construction Corp is equivalent to S$1,820 per square foot of built area. That rate marks the highest offer in terms of price per unit area for a housing site in the city-state since 2018, according to analysts at property agency SRI. 

“The strong pricing underscores developers’ optimism toward the Core Central Region (CCR) market, supported by its ongoing recovery and the limited availability of centrally located residential plots,” Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI said in a statement, using Singapore’s official nomenclature for Singapore’s prime districts in the city centre. 

In total, the tender for the 99-year leasehold site brought eight bids from developers encouraged by sales of luxury residences which have defied higher stamp duties and other policy measures introduced in July in an attempt to cool Singapore’s red hot housing market. The URA had launched the tender in August this year. 

Connectivity Advantages

Should HH Investment be awarded the plot, the company will have earned the right to develop around 340 homes spanning up to 28,907 square metres (31,1152 square feet) of gross floor area on the 5,899 square metre site.

The property is set to connect directly to Newton MRT interchange – one stop away from Orchard station – in an area which is set to benefit from enhancements under Singapore’s Draft Master Plan 2025.

“The renewed developer interest also aligns with Newton’s ongoing rejuvenation under the Draft Master Plan 2025, which envisions the area’s transformation into a vibrant mixed-use precinct with enhanced greenery, liveability, and urban vibrancy,” SRI’s Sandrasegeran said of the strength of developer demand. 

The eight bids received rank the Bukit Timah Road site among the most sought after in a government land sale in Singapore this year, with an October land sale on Dorset Road and a Dunearn Road tender in July each having drawn 9 bids. 

HH Investment outpaced the second place bid placed by a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments by more than 12 percent, according to the URA statement. Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at Propnex Realty estimates that homes in the project may sell for an average of over S$3,600 per square foot. 

Prime Projects, Strong Sales

HH Investment, which previously developed Balmoral Place on Balmoral Crescent in Singapore’s posh District 10, may have been encouraged in its offer by strong sales of high end housing projects this year, with Skye at Holland, a UOL Group joint venture in the Holland Village area having achieved a near-sellout on its launch weekend one month ago. 

“The robust upturn in the CCR (core central region) primary market this year, and the strong demand for well-connected projects near to an MRT station in various sub-markets point to potentially healthy demand for new homes to be built on the subject site,” Propnex’ Wong said. “We believe the return of buyer interest in CCR homes – particularly well-located ones near to amenities – and the easing interest rates have boosted market confidence.’

CBRE noted that second-hand units at Kopar at Newton, a nearby leasehold project launched in March 2020, are selling this year at a median price of S$2,600 per square foot. Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard, a 99-year leasehold project launched in July this year has sold more than 70 percent of its 301 units at a median price of S$3,280 per the agency’s data.  

CBRE estimates that HH Investment may offer homes on the Bukit Timah Road site at average prices of S$3,300 to S$3,500 per square foot.